Mobile digital devices

• US 7,444,163 B2
• Filed: 09/26/2003
• Issued: 10/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Inami, Akiko, Furukawa, Atsushi, Sugiyama, Takashi, Ban, Takeshi, Nakada, Masao, Itou, Yachiyo, Usui, Noriyoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung; Nay
• Assistant Examiner(s): Young; Janelle N.
• Application Number:
  US10/529,399
• Publication Number:
  US 20060038789A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,859 Days
• Field of Search: 455/550.1, 455/566, 455/575.1, 455/575.3, 345/168, 345/169, 345/170, 379/368, 379/433.06, 379/433.07
• US Class Current: 455/550.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1616 with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
• 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 1/1662 Details related to the integrated keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/169 the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• 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 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector

Abstract

A mobile digital device comprises a ten-key pad being comprised of a key mat 21 on which ten-key buttons 21a-21c with respective projections 21aa-21cc on the under surfaces thereof are laid out and a key circuit board on which respective contacts 22a-22c corresponding to the projections are laid out, an electrostatic capacity sensing pad 30 for sensing an electrostatic capacity change to detect a touched region and having through holes to be inserted the projections corresponding thereto and being provided with between the key mat 21 and the key circuit board 22, and a controller for selecting a function corresponded to a feature of the touched region detected by the electrostatic capacity sensing pad and executing the selected function. Owing to such constructions, a desired function can be selected by way of finger touching to the mobile digital device.

Claims

1. A mobile digital device having an operating input unit, the input unit comprising:

a ten-key pad being comprised of a key mat on which ten-key buttons with respective projections on the under surfaces thereof are laid out and a board on which respective contacts corresponding to the projections are laid out; and

an electrostatic capacity sensing pad provided between the key mat and the board, the electrostatic capacity sensing pad having through holes corresponding to the respective projections and in which the projections corresponding to the through holes are inserted.

2. A mobile digital device according to claim 1, wherein the ten-key buttons are printed on the key mat.

3. A mobile digital device comprising:

a ten-key pad being comprised of a key mat on which ten-key buttons with respective projections on the under surfaces thereof are laid out and a key circuit board on which respective contacts corresponding to the projections are laid out;

an electrostatic capacity sensing pad for sensing an electrostatic capacity change to detect a touched region and having through holes to be inserted the projections corresponding thereto and being provided with between the key mat and the key circuit board;

a memory for storing predetermined item names as table elements corresponding to respective small regions provided within a pad region of the electrostatic capacity sensing pad;

an item name selector for selecting an item name corresponding to a small region in which a representative point of the touched region is situated; and

a data value determiner for determining a data value of the selected item name according to a size of the touched region.

4. A mobile digital device according to claim 3, further comprising:

a memory controller for storing the touched region detected by the electrostatic capacity sensing pad in a memory;

a locus generator for generating a locus from a set of representative points of the touched region; and

wherein the item names kept in the memory are background, line thickness, and line color.

5. A mobile digital device according to claim 3, further comprising:

a display panel; and

a display controller for generating displaying data from the selected item name and the determined data value to display a concrete symbol corresponded to the determined value in an area within the display panel assigned according to the selected item name.

6. A mobile digital device according to claim 5, wherein each of the item names kept in the memory has subdivision item names thereof and the data value determiner determines a data value by tracking the subdivision item names.

7. A mobile digital device comprising:

a ten-key pad being comprised of a key mat on which ten-key buttons with respective projections on the under surfaces thereof are laid out and a key circuit board on which respective contacts corresponding to the projections are laid out;

an electrostatic capacity sensing pad for sensing an electrostatic capacity change to detect a touched region and having through holes to be inserted the projections corresponding thereto and being provided with between the key mat and the key circuit board;

a memory controller for storing the touched region detected by the electrostatic capacity sensing pad in a memory;

a locus generator for generating a locus from a set of representative points of each of the touched regions stored in the memory; and

a breakpoint detector for detecting a breakpoint of the locus according to a feature of the touched region.

8. A mobile digital device according to claim 7, wherein the breakpoint detector detects the breakpoint according to a size of the touched region.

9. A mobile digital device according to claim 8, further comprising:

a character recognizer for recognizing a character from the locus generated by the locus generator and the breakpoint detected by the breakpoint detector.

10. A mobile digital device according to claim 7, further comprising:

a direction determiner for determining a touch direction according to a figure of the touched region detected by the electrostatic capacity sensing pad; and

wherein the breakpoint detector detects the breakpoint according to the touch direction.

11. A mobile digital device according to claim 10, further comprising:

a character recognizer for recognizing a character from the locus generated by the locus generator and the breakpoint detected by the breakpoint detector.

12. A mobile digital device according to claim 7, wherein the breakpoint detector detects the breakpoint according to a number of the touched regions detected by the electrostatic capacity sensing pad simultaneously.

13. A mobile digital device according to claim 12, further comprising:

a character recognizer for recognizing a character from the locus generated by the locus generator and the breakpoint detected by the breakpoint detector.

14. A mobile digital device comprising:

a ten-key pad being comprised of a key mat on which ten-key buttons with respective projections on the under surfaces thereof are laid out and a key circuit board on which respective contacts corresponding to the projections are laid out;

an electrostatic capacity sensing pad for sensing an electrostatic capacity change to detect a touched region and having through holes to be inserted the projections corresponding thereto and being provided with a portion having the through holes between the key mat and the key circuit board and with the other portion on a part of a chassis of the mobile digital device;

a memory controller for storing the touched region detected by the electrostatic capacity sensing pad in a memory;

a locus generator for generating a locus from a set of representative points of each of the touched regions stored in the memory;

a direction determiner for determining a touch direction according to a figure of the touched region detected by the electrostatic capacity sensing pad; and

a breakpoint detector for detecting a breakpoint of the locus according to the touch direction determined by the direction determiner.

15. A mobile digital device according to claim 14, wherein the touch direction determined by the direction determiner is a direction held by the user.

16. A mobile digital device comprising:

a ten-key pad being comprised of a key mat on which ten-key buttons with respective projections on the under surfaces thereof are laid out and a key circuit board on which respective contacts corresponding to the projections are laid out;

an electrostatic capacity sensing pad for sensing an electrostatic capacity change to detect a touched region and having through holes to be inserted the projections corresponding thereto and being provided with between the key mat and the key circuit board; and

a controller for selecting a function corresponding to a feature of the touched region detected by the electrostatic capacity sensing pad and executing the selected function.

17. A mobile digital device according to claim 16, wherein the controller selects a function corresponded to a size of the touched region detected by the electrostatic capacity sensing pad and executing the selected function.

18. A mobile digital device according to claim 16, further comprising:

a direction determiner for determining a touch direction according to a figure of the touched region detected by the electrostatic capacity sensing pad; and

wherein the controller selects a function corresponded to the touch direction determined by the direction determiner and executing the selected function.

19. A mobile digital device according to claim 16, wherein the controller selects a function according to a number of the touched regions detected by the electrostatic capacity sensing pad simultaneously and executing the selected function.

20. A mobile digital device comprising:

a ten-key pad being comprised of a key mat on which ten-key buttons with respective projections on the under surfaces thereof are laid out and a key circuit board on which respective contacts corresponding to the projections are laid out;

an electrostatic capacity sensing pad for sensing an electrostatic capacity change to detect a touched region and having through holes to be inserted the projections corresponding thereto and being provided with between the key mat and the key circuit board;

a memory for storing predetermined functions corresponding to respective small regions provided within a pad region of the electrostatic capacity sensing pad;

a function selector for selecting a function corresponding to a small region in which a representative point of the touched region is situated; and

a function controller for controlling the selected function according to a feature of the touched region detected by the electrostatic capacity sensing pad.

21. A mobile digital device according to claim 20, wherein the function controller controls the selected function according to a size of the touched region detected by the electrostatic capacity sensing pad.

22. A mobile digital device according to claim 20, further comprising:

a direction determiner for determining a touch direction according to a figure of the touched region detected by the electrostatic capacity sensing pad; and

wherein the function controller controls the selected function according to a touch direction determined by the direction determiner.

23. A mobile digital device according to claim 20, wherein the function controller controls the selected function according to a number of the touched regions detected by the electrostatic capacity sensing pad simultaneously.