Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US6546231?dq=6,243,373
Timestamp: 2013-12-11 04:53:02
Document Index: 337389248

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 11', 'art 25', 'art 25', 'art 25', 'art 25', 'art 25', 'art 2', 'art 25', 'art 25', 'art 25', 'art 25', 'art 25', 'art 25', 'art 25', 'art 25', 'art 25', 'art 11']

Patent US6546231 - Communication terminal device and rotary operation key - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Advanced Patent Search | Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsThis invention relates to a communication terminal device. In order to realize a communication terminal device which improves the operational efficiency and the usability remarkably comparing to a conventional one, an operation key is designed to be rotated, pushed, and slid, and the movement direction...http://www.google.com/patents/US6546231?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US6546231 - Communication terminal device and rotary operation keyPublication numberUS6546231 B1Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 09/367,359PCT numberPCT/JP1998/005360Publication dateApr 8, 2003Filing dateNov 27, 1998Priority dateNov 28, 1997Fee statusLapsedAlso published asCN1148086C, CN1246230A, EP0961461A1, EP0961461A4, WO1999029087A1Publication number09367359, 367359, PCT/1998/5360, PCT/JP/1998/005360, PCT/JP/1998/05360, PCT/JP/98/005360, PCT/JP/98/05360, PCT/JP1998/005360, PCT/JP1998/05360, PCT/JP1998005360, PCT/JP199805360, PCT/JP98/005360, PCT/JP98/05360, PCT/JP98005360, PCT/JP9805360, US 6546231 B1, US 6546231B1, US-B1-6546231, US6546231 B1, US6546231B1InventorsTakahisa Someya, Susumu KurokawaOriginal AssigneeSony CorporationExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (14), Referenced by (21), Classifications (19), Legal Events (4) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetCommunication terminal device and rotary operation keyUS 6546231 B1Abstract This invention relates to a communication terminal device. In order to realize a communication terminal device which improves the operational efficiency and the usability remarkably comparing to a conventional one, an operation key is designed to be rotated, pushed, and slid, and the movement direction or the movement amount of the cursor can be changed when the operation key is slid, so that the cursor can reach at a desired item quickly. As a result, the rotating amount to reach at a desired item can be reduced comparing to a conventional one. Therefore, a communication terminal device which improves the operational efficiency and the usability remarkably comparing to the conventional one can be realized.
a body case; an operation key having an operation part projecting out from said body case, so as to perform a rotary operation along an outer side of said body case, a first pressing operation almost at a right angle to a rotary axis of the rotary operation, and a second pressing operation along the rotary axis of the rotary operation; operation detecting means for detecting each of the rotary operation, the first pressing operation, and the second pressing operation of said operation key; storage means for storing plural items; display means for displaying the plural items read out from said storage means; and control means for receiving a detection output from said operation detecting means, for controlling scrolling through the plural items at a first scrolling speed with the rotary operation of said operation key on said display means, for determining a selected item with the first pressing operation of said operation key, and for changing the first scrolling speed to a second, faster scrolling speed for the plural items with the second pressing operation of said operation key. 2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein:
said body case is capable of being held with one hand; and said operation key is provided at one side of said body case. 3. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein
said operation key is disc-shaped. 4. A communication terminal device comprising:
a body case; an operation key having an operation part projecting out from said body case, so as to perform a rotary operation along an outer side of said body case, a first pressing operation almost at a right angle to a rotary axis of the rotary operation, and a second pressing operation along the rotary axis of the rotary operation; operation detecting means for detecting each of the rotary operation, the first pressing operation, and the second pressing operation of said operation key; storage means for storing plural items; display means for displaying the plural items read out from said storage means; and control means for receiving a detection output from said operation detecting means, for controlling scrolling through the plural items at a first scrolling speed with the rotary operation of said operation key on said display means, for determining a selected item with the first pressing operation of said operation key, and for changing the first scrolling speed to a second, faster scrolling speed for the plural items with the second pressing operation of said operation key. 5. The communication terminal device according to claim 1, wherein:
said plural items are the telephone numbers of communication partners; and said control means selects a desired partner with said rotary operation and calls said desired partner selected by said first pressing operation of said operation key. 6. The communication terminal device according to claim 1, wherein:
said body case is capable of being held with one hand; and said operation key is provided at one side of said body case. 7. The communication terminal device according to claim 3, wherein
said operation key is disc-shaped. 8. An electronic device comprising:
a body case; an operation key having an operation part projecting out from said body case, so as to perform a rotary operation along the outer side of said body case, a first pressing operation almost at right angle to the rotary axis of said rotary operation, and a second pressing operation along said rotary axis of said rotary operation; operation detecting means for detecting said rotary operation, first pressing operation, and second pressing operation of said operation key; storage means for storing plural items; display means for arranging the plural items, which are read out from said storage means, in first and second directions to display them and for displaying a cursor; and a control means for receiving a detection output from said operation detecting means, for moving said cursor for said plural items in said first direction with said rotary operation of said operation key on said display means to select a desired item, for determining said item selected by said first pressing operation of said operation key, and for changing a moving direction with said second pressing operation of said operation key so as to move said cursor in said second direction for said plural items on said display means. 9. The electronic device according to claim 8, wherein the plural items are letters of an alphabet.
said body case is capable of being held with one hand; and said operation key is provided at one side of said body case. 11. The electronic device according to claim 5, wherein
said operation key is disc-shaped. 12. An electronic device comprising:
a body case; an operation key having an operation part projecting out from said body base, so as to perform a rotary operation along an outer side of said body case, a first pressing operation almost at a right angle to a rotary axis of the rotary operation, and a second pressing operation along the rotary axis of the rotary operation; operation detecting means for detecting each of the rotary operation, the first pressing operation, and the second pressing operation of said operation key; storage means for storing hierarchically plural items; display means for displaying the hierarchically plural items read out from said storage means and a cursor; and control means for receiving a detection output from said operation detecting means, for by moving the cursor to a desired high-ranked item with the rotary operation of said operation key while high-ranked plural items are displayed on said display means, for determining a selection of the desired high-ranked item with the first pressing operation so as to display low-ranked plural items associated with the selected high-ranked item, for moving the cursor to a desired low-ranked item with the first pressing operation of said operation key on said display means, and for determining a selection of the low-ranked item with the second pressing operation of said operation key. 13. A rotary device, comprising:
a disc-shaped part; a holding part for holding said disc-shaped part so that said disc-shaped part is able to rotate, that a pressing operation is able to be performed almost at a right angle to a rotary axis of rotation of said disc-shaped part, and that a pressing operation is able to be performed toward a first direction along the rotary axis of rotation of said disc-shaped part and including an arm member for limiting movement in a second direction opposite to said first direction of a portion of said disc-shaped part, so that an opposite portion of said disc-shaped part moves in said first direction; rotation detecting means for detecting how much said disc-shaped part is rotated; a first switch for detecting the pressing operation almost at a right angle to the rotary axis of the rotation of said disc-shaped part; and a second switch for detecting the pressing operation in the first direction along the rotary axis of rotation by being contacted by said opposite portion of said disc-shaped part. Description
TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a communication terminal device and a rotary operation key, and more particularly, is applicable to a portable telephone device.
BACKGROUND ART With the widespread use of a portable telephone device, various functions have been recently added to a portable telephone device. For example, the telephone numbers of partners are stored in a memory together with the names of the partners and the name of a desired partner is selected from the names of the partners read out on a display unit in accordance with the read instruction, so as to read out the telephone number of the desired partner, which is a so-called telephone directory function. Such a telephone directory function is added to the portable telephone device so that a user can read the telephone number by the name of a partner and call the partner even if the user does not remember the telephone number.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION The present invention is made to solve the above problem and its object is to provide a communication terminal device which improves usability and has an operational efficiency superior to a conventional device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an outward diagram showing the outward constitution of a portable telephone device according to the present invention.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention is described below by referring to the accompanying drawings.
Furthermore, various operation keys 8 are provided at the lower part on the front of the body case 2 as operation means. The operation keys 8 are used to input various directions. In this case, the following nine keys are provided as the operation keys 8 concretely. The nine keys are: �phone� key 8A, �end� key 8B, �redial� key 8C, �0� to �9� numeral keys 8D, �*� key 8E, �#� key 8F, �memory� key 8G, �clear� key 8H, and �read� key 8I.
The following functions are assigned to these operation keys 8. A function for inputting a direction to phone at the input telephone number, the telephone number read from a telephone directory, or the telephone number read from the sent history is assigned to the �phone� key 8A. A function for inputting a direction to finish talking and for inputting a direction to finish other various operation mode is assigned to the �end� key 8B. A function for inputting direction to read the sent history that the telephone numbers of the partners who are telephoned by a user are displayed together with the date and time is assigned to the �redial� key 8C.
Functions for inputting corresponding numeral information are respectively assigned to ten numeral keys 8D. A function for inputting �*(asterisk)� character is assigned to �*� key 8E. A function for inputting �#� character is assigned to �#� key 8F. A function for inputting a direction to register a telephone number as a telephone directory is assigned to �memory� key 8G. A function for inputting a direction to delete the displayed contents or registered contents is assigned to �clear� key 8H. A function for inputting a direction to read the telephone number registered as a telephone directory is assigned to �read� key 8I.
Further, a jog dial 9 is provided at the upper part on the side of the body case 2 as a rotary operation key. The jog dial 9 is rotated to scroll and display various display items such as the sent history list or the telephone directory list displayed on the liquid crystal display 7. Moreover, the jog dial 9 is pushed into the inner direction of the body case 2 to determine the item being displayed. The jog dial 9 can be also pushed into the depth direction (perpendicular to FIG. 1) along the side of the body case 2. The jog dial 9 is rotated with being pushed into the depth direction to scroll and display the display items with another movement amount. In addition, similarly to the �phone� key 8A, a function for inputting a direction to phone and a function as a function key are also assigned to the pushing operation of the jog dial 9 in the inner direction. In the portable telephone device 1, desired characters can be input by the operation of the jog dial 9 to make the telephone directory list.
Referring to FIG. 2, the circuit constitution of the portable telephone device 1 will be explained here. The body case 2 of the portable telephone device 1 is provided with circuits as shown in FIG. 2. The directed information input from various operation keys 8 or the jog dial 9 described above is firstly input to a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10 which is a control means. The CPU 10 controls a LCD driver circuit 7A based on the input directed information to display various information in accordance with the directed information (e.g., input telephone number, menu items, sent history, or telephone directory) on the liquid crystal display 7. The CPU 10 further controls a transmitter/receiver circuit part 11 based on the input directed information to execute such processing in accordance with the directed information as phone processing and end processing. The CPU 10 accesses a RAM (Random Access Memory) 12 which is a first storing means to store a predetermined information, or accesses an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory) 13 which is a second storing means to store various information which are desired to be maintained after the power is shut-off, such as the sent history and the telephone directory list. In this connection, the CPU 10 performs such control operations based on the program code stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) 14.
The jog dial 9 has the disc member 20 as described above. As shown in FIG. 3, the disc member 20 is slightly projected from the side of the body case 2, so that the thumb can be put on the projection to rotate it, to push it in the inner direction of the body case 2, and to push it in the depth direction along the side. The disc member 20 is supported by a base part 25 made of synthetic resin materials in such a way that it can rotate in the direction shown by an arrow �A� or �B� with a rotation axis �O� being centered. The thumb is put on the projection to rotate the disc member 20 in the direction of the arrow �A� or �B�. In this connection, when the disc member 20 is rotated in the direction of the arrow �A� or �B� by a predetermined angle, the sensation of click can be obtained. Thereby, a user can understand by feeling the rotated amount of the disc member 20 (hereinafter, the rotated amount which can obtain the sensation of click is referred to as one click).
Practically, the disc member 20 is not directly supported on the base part 25, but supported on the base part 25 through a slide member 26. The disc member 20 thereby moves in the direction shown by an arrow �D� when it is pushed in the inner direction of the body case 2 by the thumb. In this connection, the disc member 20 is pressed in the direction shown by an arrow �C� by the slide member 26, so as to keep the disc member 20 being slightly projected from the body case 2 as shown in FIG. 3 while the disc member 20 is not pushed into the inner direction of the case (that is, in the direction of the arrow �D�).
Additionally, a clamp member 27 and the first switch 22 are also provided on the base part 25. The clamp member 27 rotates in the direction shown by an arrow �F� with a fulcrum �E� being centered, when the disc member 20 moves in the direction shown by the arrow �D�. A projection 27A projecting below is provided on the top of the clamp member 27. When the projection 27A rotates in the direction of the arrow �F� with the fulcrum �E� being centered, it reaches the top side of the first switch 22 as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. In the jog dial 9, when the disc member 20 is pushed in the direction of the arrow �D�, the projection 27A presses the first switch 22.
As shown in FIG. 5, the disc member 20 is composed of two disc members 20A and 20B actually. The disc member 20B is a movable member placed on the upper side of the disc member 20A, and is installed to rotate relatively to the fixed disc member 20A. A pair of electrodes 20C is provided on the movable disc member 20B. The electrodes 20C come in contact with twenty pairs of electrodes 20D provided along the circumference of the disc member 20A when it is assembled. In this connection, the electrodes 20D provided on the fixed disc member 20A are so formed that they are slightly shifted between the inner and the outer.
Thus, when the disc member 20B rotates in the direction of the arrow �A�, as shown in FIG. 6A, the inner electric potential of the electric potential output from the electrodes 20D first falls to the ground potential. On the contrary, when the disc member 20B rotates in the direction of the arrow �B�, as shown in FIG. 6B, the outer electric potential first falls to the ground potential. The detecting circuit 21 uses this to detect which of the inner potential or the outer potential falls to the ground potential first, so as to detect the rotating direction of the disc member 20B. Further, the detecting circuit 21 counts up the number of pulses output from the outer electrode, so as to detect the rotated amount of the disc member 20B.
As shown in FIG. 7, the base part 25 in which the disc member 20 is installed is hooked and supported by a hook part 2A provided inside the body case 2 so as to be installed in the body case 2. The projection 25A is provided under the base part 25, and the base part 25 is supported by the projection 25A from below. On the position counter to the disc member 20 over the base part 25, the second switch 23 is provided slightly apart from the base part 25. In this case, since the base part 25 is supported from below by the projection 25A, when the disc member 20 is pushed in the depth direction shown by an arrow �G�, the base part 25 is bent downward in the direction shown by the arrow �G� with the projection 25A being a fulcrum. At this time, the bottom side of the base part 25 bent downward comes into contact with the second switch 23 and presses the second switch 23. In this way, in the jog dial 9, when the disc member 20 is pushed in the depth direction shown by the arrow �G�, the base part 25 in which the disc member 20 is installed is bent so as to press the second switch 23.
In addition, on the base part 25, a supporting member 25B is provided and an arm member 25C is provided through the supporting member 25B. The arm member 25C is provided over one portion of the disc member 20. Thereby, when the disc member 20 is pressed in the direction shown by the arrow �G�, the one portion of the disc member 20 is inclined to be lifted in accordance with the strength. However, the one portion of the disc member 20 is pressed from above by the arm member 25C, and this prevents the one portion from being lifted contrarily.
In this paragraph, the retrieval of the telephone directory list described above will be explained with reference to FIG. 8. When the jog dial 9 is rotated or the read key 8I is pushed in the state that a call is not made to direct to read the telephone directory list, in the portable telephone device 1, the partner's name registered as the telephone directory list is read out from the EEPROM 13 and it is displayed on the liquid crystal display 7. In the portable telephone device 1, the telephone numbers for one hundred persons at maximum can be registered. When the telephone directory list is read out, as shown in FIG. 8A, registered in the abbreviated dialing �001� is displayed at the center of the liquid crystal display 7, registered in the last abbreviated dialing �100� is displayed above that, and registered in the abbreviated dialing �002� is displayed below that. In this case, the cursor K1 is displayed at the center of the telephone directory list, that is the abbreviated dialing �001�, and the partner of the abbreviated dialing �001� is being selected at this time.
When the jog dial 9 is rotated for one click downward in this state, as shown in FIG. 8B, the telephone directory list is scrolled for one line upward. As a result, the partners' names registered in the abbreviated dialing �001� and �002� are displayed in the order of number, and at the same time the partner's name registered in the abbreviated dialing �003� is newly displayed on the third line. In this connection, the cursor K1 is also displayed at the center of the telephone directory list similarly, so that the partner of the abbreviated dialing �002� is being selected in this state.
Further, when the jog dial 9 is rotated for one click downward in this state, as shown in FIG. 8C, the telephone directory list is scrolled for one line upward. As a result, the partners' names registered in the abbreviated dialing �002� and �003� are displayed in the order of number, and at the same time the partner's name registered in the abbreviated dialing �004� is newly displayed on the third line. In this connection, the cursor K1 is also displayed at the center of the telephone directory list similarly, so that the partner of the abbreviated dialing �003� is being selected in this state.
When the jog dial 9 is rotated for one click downward in this state while pushing it in the depth direction, the scrolling amount by one click rotation is changed from one line to ten lines, and as shown in FIG. 8D, the telephone directory list is scrolled for ten lines upward. As a result, the partners' names registered in the abbreviated dialing �012�, �013�, and �014�, and are successively displayed in the order of number. In this connection, the cursor K1 is also displayed at the center of the telephone directory list similarly, so that the partner of the abbreviated dialing �013� is being selected in this state.
If a desired partner of the telephone directory list is, the cursor may be moved back one line from the current selection and the jog dial 9 is rotated for one click upward in this state. As shown in FIG. 8E, the telephone directory list is scrolled for one line downward by this operation, so that the cursor K1 can be displayed at the desired partner to select.
After the cursor K1 is displayed at the desired partner, the jog dial 9 is pushed in the inner direction of the body case to determine the partner, and as shown in FIG. 8F, the detailed information of the selected, that is the telephone number, can be displayed. In addition, when the jog dial 9 is further pushed in the inner direction of the body case in this state, the portable telephone device 1 phones the partner whose telephone number is being displayed (i.e., the displayed telephone number is transmitted to the base station apparatus through the transmitter/receiver circuit part 11 to connect the communication line). The user can phone in the state of touching the jog dial 9 without the operation of the �phone� key 8A.
In the portable telephone device 1, the push of jog dial 9 in the depth direction is assigned to the change of the scrolling amount (i.e., the change of the amount that a cursor moves). When the jog dial 9 is rotated while pushing it in the depth direction, the movement amount of cursor is changed from one line to ten lines, so that the desired partner can be found quickly. For example, if the partner registered at the abbreviated dialing �050� is desired to be found in the state that the abbreviated dialing �001� is being currently selected, the jog dial 9 is rotated for five clicks downward while pushing it in the depth direction, so that the desired partner can be found. The desired partner can be found quickly compared to the conventional operation in which the user must rotate it for fifty clicks.
In the case of inputting the Kana characters, the jog dial 9 is first pushed in the inner direction of the body case in the state that a call is not made, to read the menu prepared in the portable telephone device 1. Then, the jog dial 9 is rotated in a predetermined direction to find the character input mode from among the menu items (that is the jog dial 9 is rotated to display the cursor K1 at the item of the character input mode). In this state, the jog dial 9 is pushed in the inner direction similarly to set the character input mode. The character input mode picture shown in FIG. 9A is displayed on the liquid crystal display 7 by this setting operation.
In this connection, in the case that the Kanji converting mode is previously set by a predetermined operation, representing that the Kanji converting mode is set is displayed at the top portion on the initial picture of the character input mode. Moreover, the input character mark �>>>:� is displayed in the second line on the initial picture and the Kana characters input by the operation described below are successively displayed after the input character mark. Further, the Kana characters of line of the Japanese syllabary are displayed one line below the mark, and the Kana characters of line and line of the Japanese syllabary are displayed one line further below the mark. In addition, the characters of line, line, line, line, line and line are virtually prepared further below them, although they are not displayed in this state. If the jog dial 9 is rotated downward, these characters are successively scrolled and displayed in accordance with the rotated amount. In this connection, on the initial picture of the character input mode, the cursor K1 is firstly displayed at the Kana character, and that character is being selected.
To input the Kana character for example, the jog dial 9 is first rotated for one click downward. As shown in FIG. 9B, the cursor K1 is moved downward for one line and is displayed at the Kana character which is being selected. When the jog dial 9 is then rotated for one click upward while pushing it in the depth direction, the movement direction of the cursor K1 is changed. As a result, as shown in FIG. 9C, the cursor K1 is moved in the right direction for one character and is displayed at the Kana character which is being selected. In this connection, if the jog dial 9 is pushed in the depth direction, the rotating operation of the jog dial 9 in the up and down direction is changed from the operation corresponding to the up and down movement of the cursor K1 to the operation corresponding to the left and right movement of the cursor K1.
Then, the jog dial 9 is rotated for one click downward without pushing it in the depth direction to change the movement direction of the cursor K1 according to the rotation of the jog dial 9 into the down direction again. As a result, as shown in FIG. 9D, the cursor K1 is moved downward for one line to be displayed at the Kana character, which is being selected. In addition, the position where the cursor K1 is displayed on the picture is not changed, and the table of the Japanese syllabary is scrolled upward for one line as a whole so that the cursor K1 is visually moved downward for one line.
Next, in this paragraph, the setting of the operation mode using the jog dial 9 will be explain with referring to FIGS. 10 and 11. Note that the alarm setting will be explained here as a typical operation mode.
In this connection, on the initial picture of the alarm setting mode, the characters �alarm� representing the alarm setting mode is displayed in the first line to show an user the alarm setting mode. Further, the alarm setting mode is provided with the alarm starting and non-starting functions, �ON� and �OFF� representing them are displayed in the second line. On the initial picture of the alarm setting mode, the cursor K1 is initially displayed at �ON� position and the alarm starting is being selected.
Thereby, to start-up the alarm, on the initial picture of the alarm setting mode, the jog dial 9 is pushed in the depth direction to set the alarm to a starting condition. As shown in FIG. 10B, the picture proceeds to the time setting picture for setting the alarm starting time. On the time setting picture, the cursor K1 is displayed at the position of �hour�, and the �numerical� key 8D is used to input a desired numerical in this state. After the information of �hour� is input, the cursor K1 automatically moves to the position of �minute�, and the �numerical� key 8D is similarly used to input a desired numerical. In this way, the time to start the alarm can be input.
In addition, to set the alarm not to start-up, on the initial picture of the alarm setting, the jog dial 9 is pushed in the inner direction of the body case to set the alarm to a non-starting condition. As shown in FIG. 10C, the cursor K1 moves in the right direction to be displayed at the position of �OFF�, and the jog dial 9 is pushed in the depth direction in this state so as to set the alarm to a non-starting condition.
In this connection, in the case where the rotation is the up and down direction and the pushing in the inner the up and down direction and the pushing in the inner direction of the body case are only prepared in jog dial 9 like a conventional one, as shown in FIG. 11, the selection and determination of the item can not be separately performed to set the operation mode. To set the alarm to a starting condition for example, the jog dial is pushed in the inner direction of the body case to set the alarm to a non-starting condition once, thereafter the jog dial must be pushed in the inner direction of the body case again to move the cursor K1 to the position of �ON�. Two times operations are necessary to set the alarm to a starting condition. However, in the portable telephone device 1, since the jog dial 9 can be operated in the three directions, the selection and determination can be performed separately to set the operation mode, and the alarm can be set by one time operation so as to perform the setting quickly.
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