KEYBOARD ARRANGEMENT

• US 20070166091A1
• Filed: 06/30/2006
• Published: 07/19/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: GRIFFIN, Jason
• Granted Patent: US 7,938,589 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 400/486
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1664 Arrangements for ergonomically adjusting the disposition of keys of the integrated keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0213 Arrangements providing an integrated pointing device in a keyboard, e.g. trackball, mini-joystick for pointing devices integrated in a laptop computer G06F1/169; joysticks G05G9/047; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0219 Special purpose keyboards
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0237 using prediction or retrieval techniques
• 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 1/27463 Predictive input, predictive dialling by comparing the dialled sequence with the content of a telephone directory
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/70 methods for entering alphabetical characters, e.g. multi-tap or dictionary disambiguation methods for entering alphabetical characters per se G06F3/0237

Abstract

A handheld mobile communication device having a physical keyboard with a first set of keys having indicia associated with the letters A-Z arranged in a standard alphabetic keyboard arrangement and a second set of keys having indica for the numerals 0-9. The numerals are arranged in a numeric phone key arrangement which is at least partially overlaid on the standard alphabetic keyboard arrangement. The second set of keys is differentiated from the keys of the first set using color.

Claims

1. A handheld mobile communication device with a physical keyboard, said device comprising:

a housing with a plurality of keys located at a front surface of the housing;

said plurality of keys comprising a first set of at least twelve keys having indicia of letters A to Z associated therewith, said letters being arranged in a standard alphabetic keyboard arrangement, and a second set of keys having indicia of numerals 0 to 9 associated therewith, said numerals being arranged in a numeric phone key arrangement that is at least partially overlaid on said standard alphabetic keyboard arrangement; and

said second set of keys are differentiated, based on color, from keys of said first set of keys that are not overlaid by said second set of keys.

2. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein numeric indicia associated with said second set of keys is a first color and alphabetic indicia associated with said first set of keys is a second color.

3. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein a background color of said second set of keys is different from a background color of said first set of keys that are not overlaid by said second set of keys.

4. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein a first area of the front surface of the housing around said second set of keys is a first color and a second area of the front surface of the housing around said first set of keys that are not overlaid by said second set of keys is a second color.

5. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein said first set of keys having indicia of letters A to Z associated therewith number fewer than twenty-six so that at least a portion of the keys of said first set each have more than one letter indicia associated therewith.

6. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein said first set of keys having indicia of letters A to Z associated therewith number twelve.

7. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein said first set of keys having indicia of letters A to Z associated therewith number fourteen.

8. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, further comprising said indicia of letters A to Z being positioned directly on keys of said first set of keys in a first color and said indicia of numerals 0 to 9 being positioned directly on keys of said second set of keys in a second color.

9. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein the keys of said second set of keys have a two tone appearance.

10. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 9, wherein each key of said second set of keys has a first portion of a first color and a second portion of a second color.

11. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 10, wherein said first portion of each key of said second set of keys has numeric indicia associated therewith of a first different color to the first color.

12. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 11, wherein the first different color comprises the second color.

13. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 10, wherein said second portion of each key of said second set of keys has alphabetic indicia associated therewith of a second different color to the second color.

14. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 13, wherein the second different color comprises the first color.

15. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 9, wherein each key of said second set of keys has a first portion having numeric indicia associated therewith and a second portion having alphabetic indicia associated therewith.

16. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 15, wherein the alphabetic indicia has a font size substantially ⅓

of a font size of the numeric indicia.

17. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 15, wherein the numeric indicia has a font size of 10 mm.

18. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 15, wherein at least one of (i) font size, (ii) font type and (iii) indicia color of the numeric indicia associated with the first portion of each key of the said second set of keys is different to that of the alphabetic indicia associated with the second portion of said key.

19. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 18, wherein indicia associated with at least a portion of said first set of keys that are not overlaid by said second set of keys comprise a third color.

20. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein the standard alphabetic keyboard arrangement comprises one of QWERTY, QWERTZ, AZERTY, and DVORAK layouts.

21. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein said first set of keys associated with the alphabetic keyboard arrangement number fourteen and the plurality of keys number twenty.

22. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein said physical keyboard comprises a total of twenty keys arranged in four rows and five columns, with the four rows comprising in order a first, second, third and fourth row, and the five columns comprising in order a first, second, third, fourth, and fifth column.

23. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 22, wherein one of a QWERTY, QWERTZ, AZERTY, and DVORAK array of letters is associated with three of the four rows and said second set of keys is associated with each of the four rows.

24. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 23, wherein said second set of keys is associated with three of the five columns.

25. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 23, wherein said second set of keys is associated with the second, third and fourth columns.

26. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 23, wherein said second set of keys is associated with keys in the first, second, third, and fourth rows and wherein keys in the first row comprise a number “

1”

in the second column, a number “

2”

in the third column, and a number “

3”

in the fourth column, keys in the second row comprise a number “

4”

in the second column, a number “

5”

in the third column, and a number “

6”

in the fourth column, keys in the third row comprise a number “

7”

in the second column, a number “

8”

in the third column, and a number “

9”

in the fourth column, and keys in the fourth row comprise a “

*”

in the second column, a number “

0”

in the third column, and a “

#”

in the fourth column.

27. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 22, wherein the fourth row of keys comprises an “

alt”

function in the first column, a “

next”

function in the second column, a “

space”

function in the third column, a “

shift”

function in the fourth column, and a “

return/enter”

function in the fifth column.

28. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 22, wherein the first row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

QW”

, “

ER”

, “

TY”

, “

UI”

, and “

OP”

.

29. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 22, wherein the first row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

QW”

, “

ER”

, “

TY”

, “

UI”

, and “

OP”

, the second row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

AS”

, “

DF”

, “

GH”

, “

JK”

, and “

L”

, the third row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

ZX”

, “

CV”

, “

BN”

, and “

M”

.

30. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 22, wherein the first row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

QW”

, “

ER”

, “

TY”

, “

UI”

, and “

OP”

, the second row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

AS”

, “

DF”

, “

GH”

, and “

JK”

, the third row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

ZXC”

, “

VB”

, and “

NM”

.

31. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 22, wherein the first row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

QW”

, “

ER”

, “

TY”

, “

UI”

, and “

OP”

, the second row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

AS”

, “

DF”

, “

GH”

, “

JK”

, and “

L”

, the third row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

Z”

, “

XC”

, “

VB”

, and “

NM”

.

32. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 22, further comprising a “

return/enter”

key associated with a return/enter function.

33. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 32, wherein the “

return/enter”

key is positioned in the fifth column.

34. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 32, wherein the “

return/enter”

key is positioned in the fourth row.

35. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, further comprising a function associated with at least one of the plurality of keys.

36. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein said plurality of keys of said physical keyboard are aligned in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns to form a grid of keys, and at least one of the columns and the rows is straight.

37. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 36, wherein at least one of the rows and the columns is non-linear.

38. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of keys is rectangular.

39. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of keys is oval.

40. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein said plurality of keys number twenty-four and comprise a first, second, third and fourth row, and a first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh column, with the first row comprising seven keys, the second row comprising seven keys, the third row comprising seven keys, and the fourth row comprising three keys.

41. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 40, wherein the three keys of the fourth row are positioned in the third, fourth, and fifth columns.

42. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 40, wherein the first row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

Q”

, “

W”

, “

ER”

, “

TY”

, “

UI”

, “

O”

, and “

P”

, and with keys in the first row comprising a number “

1”

in the third column, a number “

2”

in the fourth column, and a number “

3”

in the fifth column.

43. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 40, wherein the first row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

Q”

, “

W”

, “

ER”

, “

TY”

, “

UI”

, “

O”

, and “

P”

, the second row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

A”

, “

S”

, “

DF”

, “

GH”

, “

JK”

, and “

L”

, the third row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

Z”

, “

XC”

, “

VB”

, and “

NM”

, and said second set of keys is associated with keys in the first, second, third, and fourth rows, with keys in the first row comprising a number “

1”

in the third column, a number “

2”

in the fourth column, and a number “

3”

in the fifth column, said second set of keys associated with keys in the second row comprising a number “

4”

in the third column, a number “

5”

in the fourth column, and a number “

6”

in the fifth column, said second set of keys associated with keys in the third row comprising a number “

7”

in the third column, a number “

8”

in the fourth column, and a number “

9”

in the fifth column, and said second set of keys associated with keys in the fourth row comprising a number “

0”

in the fourth column.

44. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein said plurality of keys comprise four rows and six columns of keys, with the four rows comprising a first, second, third and fourth row, and the six columns comprising a first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth column.

45. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 44, wherein said second set of keys is associated with the first, second, and third columns and with the first, second, third, and fourth rows.

46. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 44, wherein the first row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

QW”

, “

E”

, “

RT”

, “

YU”

, “

I”

, and “

Op”

, the second row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

AS”

, “

D”

, “

FG”

, “

HJ”

, “

K”

, and “

L”

, the third row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

ZX”

, “

C”

, “

V”

, “

BN”

, and “

M”

, and said second set of keys comprises keys in the first row comprising a number “

1”

in the first column, a number “

2”

in the second column, and a number “

3”

in the third column, said second set of keys comprises keys associated with keys in the second row comprising a number “

4”

in the first column, a number “

5”

in the second column, and a number “

6”

in the third column, said second set of keys comprises keys associated with keys in the third row comprising a number “

7”

in the first column, a number “

8”

in the second column, and a number “

9”

in the third column, and the fourth row comprising five keys that are misaligned with the first through sixth columns, said fourth row keys comprising a first, second, third, fourth, and fifth key, with the second key of the fourth row comprising the “

0”

of the numeric phone key arrangement, said “

0”

key being centered beneath a remainder of numeric keys 1-9.

47. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 44, wherein said second set of keys is associated with the second, third, and fourth columns and with the first, second, third, and fourth rows.

48. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 47, wherein the first row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

QW”

, “

E”

, “

RT”

, “

YU”

, “

I”

, and “

OP”

, the second row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

AS”

, “

D”

, “

FG”

, “

HJ”

, and “

KL”

, the third row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

ZX”

, “

CV”

, “

BN”

, and “

M”

, and said second set of keys comprises keys in the first row comprising a number “

1”

in the second column, a number “

2”

in the third column, and a number “

3”

in the fourth column, said second set of keys associated with keys in the second row comprising a number “

4”

in the second column, a number “

5”

in the third column, and a number “

6”

in the fourth column, said second set of keys associated with keys in the third row comprising a number “

7”

in the second column, a number “

8”

in the third column, and a number “

9”

in the fourth column, and the fourth row comprising three keys that are misaligned with the first through sixth columns, said fourth row keys comprising a first, a second, and a third key, with the first key of the fourth row comprising a “

*”

, the second key of the fourth row comprising a “

0”

of said second set of keys, and the third key of the fourth row comprising a “

#”

.

49. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of keys comprise four rows and four columns of keys, with the four rows comprising a first, second, third and fourth row and the four columns comprising a first, second, third, and fourth column.

50. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 49, wherein said second set of keys is associated with the first, second, and third columns and with the first, second, third, and fourth rows.

51. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 49, wherein the first row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

QWE”

, “

RT”

, “

YU”

, and “

IOP”

, the second row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

ASD”

, “

FGH”

, and “

JKL”

, the third row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

ZXC”

, “

VB”

, and “

NM”

, and said second set of keys comprises keys in the first row comprising a number “

1”

in the first column, a number “

2”

in the second column, and a number “

3”

in the third column, said second set of keys comprises keys in the second row comprising a number “

4”

in the first column, a number “

5”

in the second column, and a number “

6”

in the third column, said second set of keys comprises keys in the third row comprising a number “

7”

in the first column, a number “

8”

in the second column, and a number “

9”

in the third column, and the fourth row comprises keys in the first column of “

*”

, the second column of “

0”

, and the third column of “

#”

.

52. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 49, wherein the fourth key of the second row is associated with a “

backspace”

function, the fourth key of the third row is associated with a “

return/enter”

function, the first key of the fourth row is associated with a “

txt”

function, the second key of the fourth row is associated with a “

space”

function, the third key of the fourth row is associated with a “

shift”

function, and the fourth key of the fourth row is associated with an “

alt”

function.

53. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein said plurality of keys comprise four rows of keys, with the first row of keys comprising a first number of keys, the second row of keys comprising the first number minus one number of keys, the third row of keys comprising the first number minus two number of keys, and the fourth row of keys comprising the first number minus three number of keys.

54. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, comprising four rows of keys, with the first row of keys comprising a first number of keys, the second row of keys comprising fewer keys than the first row, the third row of keys comprising fewer keys than the second row, and the fourth row of keys comprising fewer keys than the third row.

55. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein said second set of keys is arranged symmetrically about a center line.

56. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein said plurality of keys is arranged symmetrically about a center line.

57. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein said second set of keys is centered over key columns formed of the plurality of keys.

58. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein said second set of keys is centered on the front surface of the housing.

59. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein said handheld mobile communication device has a telephony mode and a text-entry mode.

60. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, further comprising an auxiliary I/O device.

61. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 60, wherein said auxiliary I/O device being one of a touchpad, a rocker switch, and a thumb-wheel.

62. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, further comprising a associated with one of the plurality of keys and a “

#”

associated with another of the plurality of keys, wherein the “

*”

key is positioned directly adjacent one side of the key with which the numeral “

0”

is associated and the “

#”

key is positioned directly adjacent the other side of the key with which the numeral “

0”

is associated.

63. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein said second set of keys further comprises symbols.

64. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one key of said second set of keys includes an identifying portion in the form of one of a raised bump or a recessed dimple.

65. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein said second set of keys is positioned substantially on a left side of a face of the handheld mobile station.

66. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein said second set of keys is positioned substantially on a right side of a face of the handheld mobile station.

67. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, further comprising a first and a second color on the first set of keys, wherein the first color dominates a top portion of each of the first set of keys and the second color dominates a bottom portion of each of the first set of keys.

68. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein said second set of keys further comprises the symbols “

*” and

“

#”

.

69. The handheld mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, further comprising a space key centered at a bottom of said plurality of keys.