COUNTER-TACTILE KEYPAD

• US 20090046076A1
• Filed: 08/13/2008
• Published: 02/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Modu Limited (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Katz, Hagay, Bychkov, Eyal
• Granted Patent: US 8,836,637 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0489 using dedicated keyboard keys or combinations thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/236 including keys on side or rear faces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A touch-based user interface for an electronic device, including a housing including electronic circuitry, a plurality of buttons mounted within a first area on a first side of the housing, and a screen mounted on a second area of a second side of the housing, the second side being opposite to the first side, and the second area being opposite to at least a portion of the first area, wherein the electronic circuitry is operative (i) to display on the screen at least one user interface control element that corresponds respectively to at least one button, each such user interface control element having a command associated therewith, and (ii) to perform the command associated with a designated user interface control element when its corresponding button is pressed. A method and a computer-readable storage medium is also described and claimed.

Claims

1. A touch-based user interface for an electronic device, comprising:

a housing comprising electronic circuitry;

a plurality of buttons mounted within a first area on a first side of said housing; and

a screen mounted on a second area of a second side of said housing, the second side being opposite to the first side, and the second area being opposite to at least a portion of the first area,

wherein said electronic circuitry is operative (i) to display on said screen at least one user interface control element that corresponds respectively to at least one button, each such user interface control element having a command associated therewith, and (ii) to perform the command associated with a designated user interface control element when its corresponding button is pressed.

2. The touch-based user interface of claim 1 wherein said plurality of buttons are not connected to said electronic circuitry, and wherein said screen is a touch screen.

3. The touch-based user interface of claim 1 wherein said plurality of buttons are connected to said electronic circuitry, and wherein said screen is a touch screen.

4. The touch-based user interface of claim 1 wherein said plurality of buttons are connected to said electronic circuitry, and wherein said screen is a non-touch screen.

5. The touch-based user interface of claim 1 wherein said plurality of buttons have symbols engraved thereon, the symbols representing default functions, and wherein said electronic circuitry is operative to enable a button-only interface, for which said plurality of buttons activate their default functions.

6. The touch-based user interface of claim 1 further comprising an orientation sensor coupled to said electronic circuitry, for detecting an orientation of said housing, and wherein said electronic circuitry enables the button-only interface when said orientation sensor detects an orientation of said housing wherein said screen is facing down and said plurality of buttons are facing up.

7. A method for a touch-based user interface for an electronic device, comprising:

receiving notification that a user has pressed a button on a first side of an electronic device; and

performing a command associated with a control element displayed on a screen on the electronic device,

wherein the screen is located on a second side of the electronic device, the second side being opposite to the first side, and wherein the control element is displayed opposite the location of the button that was pressed.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising playing an audio sound in response to said receiving.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the audio sound is the sound of a button being clicked.

10. The method of claim 7 further comprising displaying a video cue on the screen in response to said receiving.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the video cue is a succession of images showing a button being pushed and released.

12. A computer readable storage medium storing program code for causing an electronic device:

to receive notification that a user has pressed a button on a first side of the electronic device; and

to perform a command associated with a control element displayed on a screen on the electronic device,

wherein the screen is located on a second side of the electronic device, the second side being opposite to the first side, and wherein the control element is displayed opposite the location of the button that was pressed.

13. A method for touch-based user interface for an electronic device, comprising:

receiving a notification that a user has pressed an area of a touch screen on an electronic device where a control element is displayed;

verifying that the user has also pressed an off-screen button corresponding to the control element; and

performing a command associated with the control element after and only after said receiving and said verifying have been performed.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein said verifying verifies that the user has pressed the off-screen button simultaneous with pressing the area of the touch screen.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein the touch screen and the off-screen button are located on opposite sides of the electronic device.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the control element is displayed in an area of the touch screen opposite the off-screen button.

17. The method of claim 13 further comprising playing an audio sound in response to said receiving.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the audio sound is the sound of a button being clicked.

19. The method of claim 13 further comprising displaying a video cue on the screen in response to said receiving.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the video cue is a succession of images showing a button being pushed and released.

21. A computer readable storage medium storing program code for causing an electronic device:

to receive a notification that a user has pressed an area of a touch screen on the electronic device where a control element is displayed;

to verify that the user has also pressed an off-screen button corresponding to the control element; and

to perform a command associated with the control element after and only after both the receiving and the verifying have been performed.