Patent ID: 7898440

Claim:
A keyboard for a handheld electronic device, the keyboard comprising: a plurality of input keys, each of said plurality of input keys having a pair of sliding arms; a front panel adapted to be mounted on an outer surface of the handheld electronic device, said front panel being formed with a mounting hole for receiving a respective one of said input keys; a sliding and pressing mechanism disposed below said front panel to permit sliding movement of said respective input key in vertical or horizontal direction of said mounting hole, said sliding and pressing mechanism having a pair of sidewalls standing oppositely for accommodating each of said plurality of input keys therebetween, each of the pair of sidewalls having a T-shaped slot unit, said T-shaped slot unit having a horizontal portion extending along said horizontal direction and a vertical portion extending along said vertical direction; and a spring unit disposed below said front panel for providing a restoration force that permits said respective input key to retrieve its initial position upon removal of an applied force for moving said respective input key along said vertical or horizontal direction, wherein said sliding arms of each of said plurality of input keys being extended outward and disposed slidably within corresponding T-shaped slot unit of the sliding and pressing mechanism so as to allow said input key to slide along said horizontal direction while said sliding arms sliding in said horizontal portion of said T-shaped slot unit and to allow said input key to slide along said vertical direction while said sliding arms sliding in said vertical portion of said T-shaped slot unit.