KEYPAD OVERLAY MEMBRANE
First Claim
1. An overlay membrane for a keypad of a handheld electronic device, comprising:
- a continuous thin-walled sheet having an outwardly-facing surface and an opposed inwardly-facing surface;
a first array of raised members formed into the sheet in a configuration for positioning atop individual keys of the electronic device keypad; and
a second array of channels formed into the sheet between the first away of raised members;
wherein the sheet is configured such that upon placing the overlay membrane onto the keypad of the electronic device with the inwardly-facing surface of the sheet facing the keypad, application of a sufficient force to one of the raised members induces movement of a respective first individual key of the keypad underlying and aligned with the particular raised member without inducing movement of another individual key of the keypad adjacent to the first individual key.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A keypad overlay membrane provides guidance to a user in selecting an intended key to strike and avoiding striking unintended keys. In one arrangement the overlay membrane is formed by a continuous thin-walled sheet having an outwardly-facing surface and an opposed inwardly-facing surface. Formed into the thin-walled sheet are a first array of raised members and a second array of channels. The raised member array is laid out in a configuration for positioning atop individual keys of the electronic device keypad, with the channel array located between the raised member array. Upon placing the overlay membrane onto keypad, the user can apply a sufficient inwardly directed force to one of the raised members to induce movement of the respective key underlying and aligned with the particular raised member. In another arrangement, an array of concave depressions substitutes for the raised member array and channel array.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. An overlay membrane for a keypad of a handheld electronic device, comprising:
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a continuous thin-walled sheet having an outwardly-facing surface and an opposed inwardly-facing surface; a first array of raised members formed into the sheet in a configuration for positioning atop individual keys of the electronic device keypad; and a second array of channels formed into the sheet between the first away of raised members; wherein the sheet is configured such that upon placing the overlay membrane onto the keypad of the electronic device with the inwardly-facing surface of the sheet facing the keypad, application of a sufficient force to one of the raised members induces movement of a respective first individual key of the keypad underlying and aligned with the particular raised member without inducing movement of another individual key of the keypad adjacent to the first individual key. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. 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:
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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. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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9. (canceled)
Specification