Abstract:
A tactile keyboard provides a user of a touch sensitive device having a soft keyboard with a mountable keyboard with distinct keys. The mountable keyboard can be placed directly upon the soft keyboard and facilitates typing. As the hard keys on the mountable keyboard are depressed they simultaneously depress same keys on the soft keyboard which is removably attached to the touch screen device.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention relates to a tactile cover for an input touch keypad of a device which can lessen difficulty inputting text or data into the device. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Touch screens or as they are otherwise known as “soft keypads” are nearly ubiquitous, used in the cell phone industry, with mp3 players and various portable video players. Soft keypads are gaining popularity with the growth of smartphone and related devices. What all of these device have in common is a touch screen input device that is relatively small, compared to the size of a full sized typical keyboard. 
         [0003]    Texting, or the sending of text messages on a cell phone or PDA having a touch screen requires inputting substantial amounts of data using a very small keyboard having an display which displays the alpha numeric characters, often in a QWERTY keyboard arrangement. However whether the characters are arranged alphabetically or as a QWERTY keyboard, inputting by tapping on specific small locations with essentially no tactile feedback is difficult and the process is prone to the user making errors. The lack of a tactile response also decreases input speed. All of these problems can be magnified if the user has large fingers or is unsteady or unsure of the response when inputting data. 
         [0004]    Devices such as the Blackberry Pearl™ have a very small tactile keyboard which occupies approximately one third of the surface area of the input display side of the telephone. Although each key is a separate physical “hard” key which can be located and depressed with reasonable precision, the screen size is fixed and must be small so as to accommodate the fixed keyboard made up of distinct depressable keys on the same upper surface. Thus while providing a useful keyboard, valuable “real estate” of the upper surface is consumed reducing remaining space for the display screen. 
         [0005]    It would be ideal however to have the benefits of a soft screen which can be changed to display alpha numeric keys in various fonts, sizes, and upper and lower case, or to display symbols in a key board arrangement while providing a distinct tactile regions to depress where the soft keys beneath, reside. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    In accordance with an aspect of this invention, a tactile cover for a device having a touch sensitive display is provided, comprising: 
         [0007]    A substrate sized to cover at least an input alpha and or numeric soft keyboard portion of the touch sensitive display, said substrate having on a surface thereof, discrete separated contact regions each region located and sized to cover a soft key displayed beneath on the touch sensitive display when the tactile cover is placed on the device so as to provide a tactile alpha and or numeric keyboard upon the touch sensitive display. 
         [0008]    In accordance with this invention a method is provided for converting a phone having soft keys to a phone having hard keys comprising: 
         [0009]    Placing upon the soft keys of a touch sensitive display a plurality of depressable distinct hard keys sized to contact the soft keys. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    Exemplary embodiments of the device will be described in accordance with the drawings, in which: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  is a prior art view of an ITOUCH™ wherein a user is inputting letters using a soft keyboard with two thumbs. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a photograph of a prior art ITOUCH™ or IPHONE™ displaying a soft touch sensitive keypad. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a photograph of the ITOUCH™ of  FIG. 2  with a rubber keypad disposed on top of the soft keypad, in accordance with the invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a photograph of a standard rubber case for an ITOUCH™ 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0015]    Turning now to  FIG. 1  an ITOUCH™ is shown wherein a user, using two thumbs is inputting information on the touch screen. Due to the fact that there are no physical tactile boundaries on a touch screen the only feedback a user receives when typing on a touch screen is visual. This visual feedback displays the result of locating a key using a finger or thumb after input has been processed by the device. There is no tactile confirmation prior to the device processing the user&#39;s selection of a key. 
         [0016]      FIG. 2  shows the ITOUCH flat screen in greater detail. Of course the advantage of this type of display is that the QWERTY keyboard can be transformed into another type of keyboard or display area for photographs or videos as the user selects different modes of operation. 
         [0017]    Turning now to  FIG. 3 , a same ITOUCH™ as shown in  FIG. 2  includes a thin rubber keypad having a staggered array of raised surface regions is shown, which allows a user to type with tactile sensation so that the individual keys representing letters can be sensed. The advantage of this is that typing can be done with greater precision and pre-knowledge that a particular key is being typed. The uncertainty that occurs by hitting the boundary between two keys is lessened or obviated with this rubber keyboard. 
         [0018]    In a preferred embodiment a material for the keyboard is used that will removably adhere to or rest upon the touch screen, however care must be taken to select a material that will respond to the user&#39;s touch through the selected material. 
         [0019]    For example, thin rubber of the type used to make elastic bands, is suitable to work with the IPHONE™ or ITOUCH™. Silicone may be suitable for some touch sensitive displays. In a preferred embodiment small suction cups can be provided on the glass contact side to hold the keyboard in place while typing. 
         [0020]    Rubber or silicone is currently used in the manufacture of cases for IPODs™ ITOUCH™ and IPHONE™ or other like devices. These rubber cases generally have an opening which serves as the viewing area and are otherwise closed having sides and back region formed of the same rubber or silicone. In accordance with an embodiment of this invention, a sleeve of this type is provided wherein the normally closed back region has an opening sized to the display portion of the touch screen and has a keyboard in a lower region which fits exactly over the soft keys of the device it is made for. This sleeve has two modes of operation. When a keyboard is needed the sleeve&#39;s back side becomes its front side so that the keyboard is placed over the touch screen. 
         [0021]    When the keyboard is not required, the keyboard is placed on the back side by taking out the device and turning in around, then putting it back in the sleeve, now exposing a full opening of the touch sensitive device. 
         [0022]    An ITOUCH™ case is shown in  FIG. 4 . This type of case can be modified on the back side by providing an open window sized to fit the visual part of the screen when typing and to have an integral keyboard wherein the material itself is stamped into a keyboard sized to match the keyboard on the device it houses. 
         [0023]    Because touch screens are not standard in size, and soft keyboards vary in size and key arrangements, kits can be provided wherein the packaged preferably deformable keyboard has within or upon the package a label indicating the type of device it is manufactured for. Thus different keyboards can be manufactured for different devices. 
         [0024]    In an embodiment not shown, the sleeve or keyboard pad may contain a chip that can be read by the device when in coupled with the device. This can serve as a confirmation that the keyboard is suitably aligned with the device and can also serve as a lock and key arrangement which enables the device when the keyboard and device are paired after authentication takes place by the device. The keyboard can also have passive identification circuitry which can be plugged into the input port of the device so at to be authenticated while in use. 
         [0025]    In summary, this invention provides an add-on device that is useful typing on a small device having a touch screen.