Abstract:
A keypad bezel for attaching to a housing of a handheld computer comprises a main body including plurality of screw holes and tabs for connecting the main body to the computer housing and a plurality of leverage points in the main body useful for removing the keypad bezel from the housing. To remove the keypad bezel, the screws are removed from the screw holes and a removal tool is positioned so that it mates with recesses the keypad bezel and force is applied to the removal tool in a direction way from the housing. The force removes the tabs out of corresponding slots in the housing allowing the bezel to be removed.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of priority from U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/327,163, filed Apr. 23, 2010 and entitled “Replaceable Keyboard Bezel” and the contents of this priority application is incorporated herein, in its entirety, by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to a keypad assembly. More specifically, the present invention relates to a keypad assembly which includes a keypad bezel that can be easily removed and/or replaced. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Given the proliferation of handheld mobile computing devices, it is desirable to make them modular. Modularity leads to efficiencies in the manufacturing and warehousing of the computing devices and their parts. Further, modularity allows parts of the computing device to be replaced by a customer. In order to improve longevity of the device and the reusability of the parts, it is desirable to make the parts easy to remove. If the parts are easy to remove, damage to both the housing of the computing device and the part itself can be limited. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel keypad bezel, removal tool for a keypad bezel and a method for removing a keypad bezel at least one of which obviates or mitigates an issue with the prior art. 
         [0005]    In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a keypad bezel for attaching to a housing of a handheld computer, the bezel comprising: a main body including a plurality of screw holes and tabs for connecting to the main body to the housing; and a plurality of leverage points in the main body useful for removing the keypad bezel from the housing. 
         [0006]    In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a removal tool configured to remove a keypad bezel from a housing of a handheld computer, the keypad bezel comprising a plurality of recesses, the removal tool comprising: a body portion; and a head portion connected to the body portion, the head portion comprising a plurality of spaced apart protrusions each configured to mate with a corresponding one of the recesses of the keypad bezel. 
         [0007]    In accordance with yet a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for removing a keypad bezel from a housing of a handheld computer using a removal tool, the keypad bezel Comprising a plurality of recesses land the removal tool comprising a plurality of protrusions configured to mate with the recesses of the keypad bezel, the method comprising the steps of: mating the removal tool with the keypad bezel, thereby engaging a leverage point on the keypad bezel; and applying force in a direction away from the housing to remove the keypad bezel thereby inhibiting damage to both the keypad bezel and the housing. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    Embodiments of the invention grill now be described by way, of example only with reference to the following drawings in which: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the front, bottom and side of a mobile computer; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a front view of a keypad bezel for use with the mobile computer of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3   a  is front perspective view of the keypad bezel of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3   b  is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the keypad bezel of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the top and side of a removal tool for use with the bezel of  FIG. 2 ; and 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a front perspective view of the removal tool of  FIG. 4 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0015]    For convenience, like numerals in the description refer to like structures in the drawings. Referring to  FIG. 1  a handheld computer (herein referred to variously and interchangeably as a handheld device a mobile computer, or a mobile device) is shown generally by numeral  100 . 
         [0016]    The handheld computer  100  comprises a housing  102 , a display  104 , a keypad  106 , a keypad bezel  112  and a battery compartment  108  for storing a rechargeable battery (not shown). Additionally in the present embodiment, the mobile computer  100  has the capability of wireless communicating data and/or voice, to and from servers as well as data acquisition sources within a communication network. One or more circuit board are housed within the mobile computer  100  for providing the electronic components required to implement at least a portion of the functionality provided by the mobile computer  100   
         [0017]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , a front view of the keypad bezel is shown in greater detail. in order to maximize space on the keypad  106 , only four screw-holes  310  are provided in the keypad bezel  112 . However, with this limited number of screw-holes  310 , not enough force can be maintained on the keypad bezel  112  to create a necessary seal to limit of water, dust and the like. Accordingly, tabs  302  are provided along the length of the keypad bezel  112 . Additional tabs may be provided along the with of the keypad bezel. The tabs are configured to be received by corresponding slots (not shown) in the housing  102 , thereby providing enough pressure to maintain the necessary seal. However, such an implementation makes it difficult to remove the keypad bezel, especially without damaging the keypad bezel  112  or the housing  102 . In the present embodiment, the keypad bezel  112  includes four corner portions  304  and a main body  306 . A pair of tabs  302  is provided along each side of the keypad bezel  112 . The tabs  302  in each pair are spaced apart to increase the pressure imparted by the keypad bezel on the keypad  106  while in place. A single tab is provided along each of a top side and a bottom side of the keypad bezel  112 . It will be appreciated by a person of ordinary skill in the art that the number of tabs  302 , as well as the location thereof, may vary for different implementations. 
         [0018]    Referring to  FIG. 3   a , a front perspective view of the keypad bezel  112  is shown. In order to improve the ease with which the keypad bezel  112  can be removed, leverage points are provided to assist removal of the keypad bezel  112 . Referring to  FIG. 3   b , an enhanced view of a corner portion  304  of the keypad bezel  112  is shown. As illustrated in  FIGS. 1 ,  3   a  and  3   b , each of the screw-holes  310  is located on a corresponding corner portion  304  of the keypad bezel  112 . Each of the corner portions  304  is set in a plane that is in substantially the same direction as the main body  306 . As will be appreciated, the corner portions  304  and the main body  306  may not be exactly parallel because of the curvature of the surfaces involved as well as the space requirements. In the present embodiment, this results in the corner portions  304  being vertically displaced from the main body  306  so that the corner portions  304  are lower than the main body  306  when the keypad bezel  112  is seated in the housing  102 . 
         [0019]    The vertical spaces between the main body  306  and the corner portions  304  are sealed by side walls  404 . In the present embodiment, the side walls  404  of the bottom two corner portions include a recess  406  creating a lip  408 . The recess  406  is created along a horizontal portion of the side wall  404 . The recess  406  begins at, or proximal to, a vertical portion of the side wall  404  and ends proximal to an outer edge of the side wall  404 . Accordingly, the lip  408  can act as the leverage points to assist removal of the keypad bezel  112 . 
         [0020]    Although the present embodiment is described as having recesses  406  in the bottom two corner portions of the keypad bezel, recesses  406  may, alternatively, be provided in the top two corner portions of the keypad bezel  112 . Yet alternatively, recesses  406  may be provided in all four corner portions of the keypad bezel  112 . 
         [0021]    Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , a removal tool is illustrated generally by numeral  500 . The removal tool includes a body portion  502  and a head portion  504 . In the present embodiment, the body portion  502  is a handle. The head portion  504  includes a pair of spaced apart protrusions  506 . The protrusions  506  are shaped to be able to mate with the recess  406  in the side walls  404  of the keypad bezel  112 . Further, the protrusions are spaced apart the same distance that the recesses  406  are spaced apart. 
         [0022]    In operation the keypad bezel  112  is attached to the housing  102  of the handheld computer  100  as follows The keypad bezel  112  is initially snapped into place so that the tabs  302  engage the corresponding slots in the housing  102 . The keypad bezel  112  is further secured to the housing  102  by inserting screws through screw-holes  310 . The screws are received by threaded bore (not shown) in the housing  102 . 
         [0023]    The keypad bezel  112  is removed from the housing  102  of the handheld computer  100  as follows. The screws are removed from the screw-holes  310 . In the present embodiment the recesses  406  are not accessible to the removal tool  500  until the screws have been removed. This limits damage to the keypad bezel  112  that may occur if an attempt to remove it is made while it is still screwed to the housing  102 . The removal tool  500  is positioned so that the  506  mate with the recesses  406  in protrusions the keypad bezel  112 . Force is applied on the removal tool  500  in a direction away from the housing  102 . The force snaps the tabs  302  out of the corresponding slots in the housing  102 . In the present embodiment, the tab  302  along the bottom edge of the keypad bezel  112  is snapped out of the housing before the tabs  302  along the sides. At this point the tab  302  at the top is easily removed from the housing  102 . Because the lip  408  provides a designed leverage point little damage is inflicted upon the keypad bezel  112  upon its removal. Further, since the housing  102  does not have to be used as a leverage point, little damage is inflicted on the housing  102  upon removal of the keypad bezel  112 . Therefore, longevity of the keypad bezel  112  and the housing  102  may be improved. 
         [0024]    Although the invention is described with reference to specific embodiment, modifications to the embodiment will become apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art. 
         [0025]    For example, in an alternative embodiments the recess  406  is created along a vertical portion of the side wall  404 . The recess  406  begins at or proximal to the horizontal portion of the side wall  404  and ends proximal to an outer edge of the side wall  404 . In this embodiment, the recesses  406  would be provided in either the two left corner portions, the two right corner portions, or in all four corner portions. It will be appreciated that the protrusions  506  of the removal tool  500  will be further spaced apart in the present embodiment than in the previous embodiments. 
         [0026]    In yet an alternate embodiment, the body portion  502  of the removal tool  500  can also contain a frame or other assembly that provides an external pivot point for the handle. 
         [0027]    In yet an alternate embodiment, a spring loaded faceplate (not shown) can be provided in the recess  406 . The spring loaded faceplate is biased so that the faceplate is flush with the side wall  404 . The faceplate is sized to conceal the recess  406 . When the removal tool  500  engages the faceplate, it moves into the recess  406  revealing the lip  408 . The present embodiment functions in a similar fashion to the previous embodiments. However, it is expected that the faceplate may inhibit dirt from becoming trapped in the recess  406  or at least reduce the amount of dirt that may get trapped. 
         [0028]    In yet an alternate embodiment, only two of the four corners portions  304  may be vertically displaced from the main body  306  of the keypad bezel  112 . 
         [0029]    In yet an alternate embodiment the leverage point are not provided by he recesses  406  described above. Rather, other features, whether connected to the side wall  404  or not, may protrude or recess from the main body  306  of the keypad bezel  112  to create the access lips or the keypad bezel  112  removal. 
         [0030]    In yet an alternate embodiment, the screw-holes  310  are not positioned close the corners of the keypad bezel  112 , as described above, but further along the sides of the keypad bezel  112 . 
         [0031]    Therefore, although the invention has been described with reference to certain specific embodiments, various modifications or combination thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.