Electronic device having a movable keypad

• US 20030112225A1
• Filed: 10/21/2002
• Published: 06/19/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Richard Granberg
• Original Assignee: Richard Granberg
• Inventors: Granberg, Richard
• Granted Patent: US 6,996,426 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0202 Portable telephone sets, e.g. cordless phones, mobile phones or bar type handsets constructional features of telephone transmitters or receivers, e.g. of speakers or microphones H04M1/03
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0235 Slidable or telescopic telephones, i.e. with a relative translation movement of the body parts; Telephones using a combination of translation and other relative motions of the body parts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0237 Sliding mechanism with one degree of freedom
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0245 using open/close detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/23 Construction or mounting of dials or of equivalent devices; Means for facilitating the use thereof by improving visibility H04M1/22
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector

Abstract

An electronic device such as a mobile telephone has a large touch screen display (1). On top of the display a flexible keypad (11) can be pulled up to more or less cover it. The keys (19) of the keypad act at their bottom against the surface of the display and produce, when depressed by the fingers of a user, a pressing force on the surface of the display, that by electronic circuits in the device is translated to a corresponding input figure or letter. The keypad can be the Venetian blind type and comprise lamellae (13) hinged to each other, so that each depressible key is placed completely on a single lamella. Guides (15) for the keypad are arranged at two opposite edges of the display, not allowing any part of the keypad to project outside the general profile of the device when moving the keypad. Such a movable keypad can be easily handled, is robust and not apt to be broken.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising a touch screen display and associated electronic circuits for displaying symbols and/or images on the display and for receiving input for a localized pressure force against the surface of the display and further comprising a keypad arranged to be moved over the display to bring, when manually depressing keys on the keypad, them to act on the surface of the display and thereby produce a corresponding input of figures or letters corresponding to the keys, characterized in that the keypad is flexible and has a size adapted to the size of the display and arranged to be moved by a user of the electronic device to different positions including to cover all of the touch screen display or a portion thereof and not to cover any portion of the touch screen display, and the keypad is connected to the device allowing a sliding movement in such a way, that all parts of the keypad, when moving the keypad to the different positions, all the time agrees with the shape of the surface of the electronic device and/or is located within the outline of the electronic device seen in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the keypad and parallel to a surface of the touch screen display.

2. An electronic device according to claim 1, characterized by guides for the keypad, the guides arranged at opposite sides of the display and extending around an edge of the electronic device to a rear side thereof to have a shape seen in the direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the keypad and parallel to a surface of the touch screen display substantially agreeing with or parallel to the outline of the electronic seen in said direction.

3. An electronic device according to claim 1, characterized by guides for the keypad, the guides arranged at opposite sides of the display and extending around an edge of the electronic device to a rear side thereof, so that when moving the keypad away from the touch screen display part of the keypad will be located at a bottom side of the electronic device.

4. An electronic device according to claim 3, characterized in that the guides are arranged so that when moving the keypad totally away from the touch screen display part of the keypad will be located at a rear side of the electronic device.

5. An electronic device according to any of claims 1-4, characterized in that the keypad is the type Venetian blind and comprises a plurality of lamellae hinged to each other and that guides for the keypad are arranged at opposite sides of the display for slidably receiving the lamellae.

6. An electronic device according to claim 5, characterized in that each key is placed on a single lamella.