Electronic device with a sliding lid

• US 6,748,249 B1
• Filed: 05/03/2000
• Issued: 06/08/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Mobile Phones UK Limited (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Inkinen, Jukka-Pekka, Eromäki, Marko
• Primary Examiner(s): WASHINGTON, ERIKA ALISE
• Application Number:
  US09/563,739
• Time in Patent Office: 1,497 Days
• Field of Search: 455/566, 455/550.1, 455/575.1, 455/89, 455/575.3, 455/575.4, 455/90.3, 455/575.8, 455/347, 455/349, 455/351, 455/433.04, 455/433.11, 455/433.12, 455/433.13, 455/433.01, 379/433, 379/38, 343/702
• US Class Current: 455/575.4
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0237 Sliding mechanism with one degree of freedom
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0247 comprising more than two body parts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector

Abstract

A portable electronic device, which has a slidingly attached touch screen (DPL1) and a sliding lid (SL1) also slidingly installed on top of the touch screen. A keyboard (KB1) is installed on top of the sliding lid. In a normal state, the display of the device is partly covered by the sliding lid and, thus, protected by the sliding lid against mechanical stress. When necessary, the display can be revealed by moving the sliding lid away from the display, whereupon a cogging (R1) made on the bottom of the sliding lid rotates a cogwheel (CW1), attached inside the device, that touches the cogging. The cogwheel transmits the movement of the sliding lid to a movement that is opposite to that of the sliding lid of the display, through a gear rack R2 attached to the display. Correspondingly, the device can again be brought to the normal state by moving the sliding lid back on top of the display or the display to underneath the sliding lid, whereupon the cogged surfaces that touch against each other cause the remaining moving element to move, and again bring the device to the normal state.

Claims

1. A portable electronic device having:

a body;

a first element slideably fitted to move in relation to the body between a first position and a second position;

a user interface comprising a set of keys and a display, the display having a visible part, and the display comprising multiple lines for displaying information;

a second element slideably fitted to move in relation to the body between a third position and a fourth position that is opposed to the first and second position;

wherein the device further comprises moving means for moving one of the first element and the second element from one position to another position on moving the other element from its one position to another position;

a first configuration, in which the visible part of the display is reduced so that not all the display lines are visible; and

a second configuration, in which the visible part of the display is extended so that more display lines are visible than in the first configuration.

2. A portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein in the first configuration, the visible part of the display is reduced by a component selected from a group consisting of:

the second element, the body and the first element.

3. A portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the first element comprises at least a subset of the keys.

4. A portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein in the first configuration, the first element is in the first position and the second element is in the third position;

and

in the second configuration, the first element is in the second position and the second element is in the fourth position.

5. A portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the body has a space for accommodating part of the second element when the second element is in the third position.

6. A portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the device has a third configuration, in which the first element is in the second position and the second element is in the third position.

7. A portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the means for moving the second element comprises one of the following:

a resilient member and electrical moving means.

8. A device according to claim 1, wherein said moving means is arranged to move at least one of the first and the second element in response to a user initiation.

9. A device according to claim 1, wherein said moving means comprises:

a cogwheel rotatably fitted into the body;

a first cogging part attached to the first element against said cogwheel for rotating the cogwheel in response to the moving of the first element; and

a second cogging part attached to the second element against the cogwheel for moving the second element through the cogwheel in response to the moving of the first element.

10. A device according to claim 1, wherein said moving means comprises:

a wire attached to said first element, which is arranged to tighten in response to the moving of one of the first element and the second element so that the wire moves the other element.

11. A device according to claim 1, wherein:

the device further comprises means for receiving a command for moving the elements; and

the moving means are arranged to move at least one of said first and second elements in response to the giving of the moving command.

12. A device according to claim 11, wherein said means for receiving the command for moving the elements comprises:

recognition means for recognising the moving of the first element for receiving the moving command implemented by moving said element.

13. A device according to claim 1, wherein said second element is fitted to move in relation to the movement of said first element in one of the following directions:

substantially in an opposite direction, substantially in a parallel direction, substantially perpendicularly and diagonally.

14. A device according to claim 1, wherein said elements are slideable one on top of the other.

15. A device according to claim 1, wherein the movements of said first and second elements with respect to the body of the device are proportional to each other.

16. The device according to claim 1 wherein the display is usable in both the first and the second configurations.

17. The device according to claim 1 wherein in the first configuration the display is used for displaying telephone numbers and text messages, and in the second configuration the display is used for tasks requiring an extended display.

18. The device according to claim 1 wherein the visible part of the display is only partially reduced by a sliding movement of the first and second element.

19. The device according to claim 1 wherein the first element and the second element are located on a same plane and adapted to simultaneously move between the first configuration and the second configuration.

20. The device of claim 1 wherein, in the first configuration, the reduced portion of the visible part of the display is adapted to display information to a user.

21. The device of claim 1 wherein the first element and the second element are adapted to move in the first configuration to at least partially obscure the visible part of the display.

22. The device of claim 21 wherein information can be presented to a user from the partially obscured visible part of the display.

23. A portable electronic device having:

a body;

a first element slideably fitted to move in relation to the body between a first position and a second position;

a user interface comprising a set of keys and a display, the display having a visible part, and the display comprising multiple lines for displaying information;

a second element slideably fitted to move in relation to the body between a third position and a fourth position that is opposed to the first and second position, wherein the second element carries the display;

a first configuration, in which the visible part of the display is reduced so that not all the display lines are visible; and

a second configuration, in which the visible part of the display is extended so that more display lines are visible than in the first configuration.

24. A portable electronic device having:

a body;

a first element slideably fitted to move in relation to the body between a first position and a second position;

a user interface comprising a set of keys and a display, the display having a visible part, and the display comprising multiple lines for displaying information;

a second element slideably fitted to move in relation to the body between a third position and a fourth position that is opposed to the first and second position;

moving means for moving one of the first element and the second element between its two positions on moving the other element between its two positions;

a first configuration, in which the visible part of the display is reduced so that not all the display lines are visible; and

a second configuration, in which the visible part of the display is extended so that more display lines are visible than in the first configuration.

25. A portable electronic device according to claim 24, wherein the means for moving the second element comprises one of the following:

a resilient member and electrical moving means.

26. A portable electronic device having:

a body;

a first element slideably fitted to move in relation to the body between a first position and a second position;

a user interface comprising a set of keys and a display, the display having a visible part, and the display comprising multiple lines for displaying information;

a second element slideably fitted to move in relation to the body between a third position and a fourth position that is opposed to the first and second position;

a first configuration, in which the visible part of the display is reduced so that not all the display lines are visible; and

a second configuration, in which the visible part of the display is extended so that more display lines are visible than in the first configuration; and

wherein said elements are slideable in the same plane and by the ends of the elements being against each other when the device is in the second configuration.

27. A portable electronic device comprising:

a body having a display;

a first lid slideably connected to the body, the first lid including a keyboard on an outer portion of the lid; and

a second lid on a same plane as the first lid, slideably connected to the body, the first lid and second lid adapted to simultaneously move across at least a portion of the display, wherein a movement of the first lid and the second lid will expose or obscure the portion of the display, the display being useable in both an exposed and obscured configuration.