Portable telephone set

• US 7,076,058 B2
• Filed: 04/24/2003
• Issued: 07/11/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Ootsuta, Kazuo, Ikeuchi, Shinji
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong, Harry S.
• Application Number:
  US10/421,804
• Publication Number:
  US 20030202656A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,174 Days
• Field of Search: 379/433.12, 379/433.01, 379/433.1, 379/433.13, 455/575.1, 455/90.3, 455/575.4, 455/566, 340/573.1
• US Class Current: 379/433.12
• 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 1/0245 using open/close detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0247 comprising more than two body parts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72427 for supporting games or graphical animations

Abstract

A first and a second unit 1 and 2 with components mounted thereon in correspondence to respective function blocks, into which portable telephone set functions are grouped, are capable of being slidably moved between a stacked state position and an extended state position. The first unit 1 includes a first component-mounted part having a display 5 and a receiver 4. The second unit 2 includes a second component-mounted part, which is covered when the stacked state position is brought about and exposed when the extended state position is brought about. The second unit 2 has a notch 9, in which a first and a second auxiliary unit 11 and 12 are provided. A desired component-mounted part can be exposed and operated by causing selective sliding of the first and second units 1 and 2 and the first and second auxiliary units 11 and 12.

Claims

1. A portable telephone set comprising:

a first unit including a first component-mounted part having a display and a receiver;

a second unit including a second component-mounted part slidably connected to the first unit so that the second component-mounted part is partly or fully covered when the first and second units are brought to a stacked state position; and

at least one auxiliary unit, including an auxiliary component-mounted part, slidably coupled to the second unit via a slide mechanism for sliding between an auxiliary stacked state position and an auxiliary extended state position so as to cover the second component-mounted part and at least partially expose the auxiliary component-mounted part when brought to the auxiliary stacked state position and fully or partly expose the second component-mounted part and cover the auxiliary component-mounted part when brought to the auxiliary extended state position.

3. The portable telephone set according to claim 1, wherein the second unit includes a fingerprint certifier unit.

5. The portable telephone set according to claim 1, wherein the first unit includes a fingerprint certifier unit.

7. The portable telephone set according to claim 1, which further comprises a position detector part for checking whether adjacent ones of the first, second and auxiliary units are in the stacked state or the extended state.

9. The portable telephone set according to claim 7, which further comprises a mode switching control part for changing the operation mode of the portable telephone set according to the inter-unit state detected by the position detector part.

10. The portable telephone set according to claim 1, which further comprises a control means for performing communication start control when the inter-unit state is changed from the stacked state to the extended state at the time of call reception and doing communication end control when the inter-unit state is changed from the extended state to the stacked state during communication.

2. A portable telephone comprising:

a first unit including a first component-mounted part having a display and a receiver;

a second unit including a second component-mounted part;

a third unit including a third component-mounted part; and

a slide mechanism which allows the first unit and the third unit to slide relative to the second unit, whereby the first unit and the third units may independently be selectively stacked with the second unit or extended with respect to the second unit.

4. The portable telephone set according to claim 2, wherein the third unit includes a fingerprint certifier unit.

6. The portable telephone set according to claim 2, wherein the third unit includes a fingerprint certifier unit.

8. The portable telephone set according to claim 2, which further comprises a position detector part for detecting whether the first unit and the third units are stacked or extended with respect to the second unit.

11. The portable telephone set according claim 8, which further comprises a mode switching control part for changing the operation mode of the portable telephone set according to the detection of the position detector part.

12. The portable telephone set according to claim 2, which further comprises a control means for performing communication start control and communication end control based on the stacking and extension of the first second and third units.

13. A portable telephone comprising:

an upper casing;

a lower casing slidably coupled to the upper casing; and

an auxiliary unit slidably coupled to the lower casing;

wherein, in a stacked state, the auxiliary unit is at least partially disposed in a space between the upper casing and the lower casing; and

wherein, in a first extended state, the upper casing is slid with respect to lower casing to expose a face of the auxiliary unit which was covered by the upper casing in the stacked state; and

wherein, in a second extended state, both the upper casing and the auxiliary unit are slid with respect to the lower casing so that a component disposed on the lower casing which was covered in the stacked and first extended states is exposed in the second extended state.

14. The portable telephone according to claim 13, wherein the upper casing comprises a display and a receiver.

15. The portable telephone according to claim 13, wherein at least one of the upper casing and the lower casing include a fingerprint certifier unit.

16. The portable telephone according to claim 13, further comprising:

a position detector which detects whether the telephone is in the stacked state or the first extended state; and

a mode switching controller which changes an operation mode of the portable telephone based on the detection of the position detector.

17. A portable telephone comprising:

a first unit comprising a first component;

a second unit comprising a second component; and

a third unit comprising a third component;

wherein the first unit and the third unit are slidably connected to the second unit so that the first unit, the second unit and the third unit may be stacked so that the first component is exposed and the second and third components are at least partially covered, and wherein the first, second and third units may be slid to various extended states so as to expose the first component and second component and at least partially cover the third component, expose the first component and the third component and at least partially cover the second component or to expose the first component the second component and the third component.

18. The portable telephone according to claim 17, wherein the first component comprises a display and a receiver.

19. The portable telephone according to claim 17, wherein at least one of the first, second and third components comprise a fingerprint certifier unit.

20. The portable telephone according to claim 17, further comprising:

a position detector which detects the relative positions of the units; and

a mode switching controller which changes an operation mode of the portable telephone based on the detection of the position detector.