Patent ID: 7572990

Claim:
An overlay membrane for a keypad of a handheld electronic device, the keypad having a plurality of individual keys surrounded by a frame, the overly membrane, comprising: a continuous thin-walled sheet having an outwardly-facing surface and an opposed inwardly-facing surface for engaging with the electronic device keypad; and an array of concave depressions formed into the thin-walled sheet in a configuration for positioning atop the plurality of individual keys; an array of bounding ridges surrounding the array of concave depressions, wherein the bounding ridges are formed into the thin-walled sheet in a configuration such that the bounding ridges are aligned with and positioned atop a portion of the keypad frame where the plurality of individual keys are not located when the array of concave depressions are positioned atop the plurality of individual keys, enabling application of a sufficient force to one of the depressions to induce movement of a respective first individual key of the plurality of individual keys of the keypad underlying and aligned with the particular depression.