Hand held computer device
First Claim
1. A hand held computer device, said device comprising:
- an upper surface including at least one user interface component positioned thereon, said user interface component selected from the group consisting of a display, a pointer controller, a trigger button for actuating a sensor and a keyboard;
a longitudinal axis;
a lower surface; and
a finger saddle ridge protruding downwardly from said lower surface, said finger saddle ridge having a front surface and a rear surface, said finger saddle ridge being sized to accommodate a pair of first and second adjacent human fingers, such that a first finger contacts a front surface and a second finger contacts said rear surface of said finger saddle ridge;
wherein said at least one user interface component includes a trigger button and a pointer controller, and wherein said pointer controller is positioned on said upper surface rearward of said trigger button.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The invention is a hand held computer device having a housing including a top or upper surface, a lower surface and finger saddle ridge protruding downwardly from the lower surface. The finger saddle ridge has two finger receiving surfaces and is sized to accommodate a pair of human fingers such that a first finger contacts the front surface of the finger saddle and a second finger contacts the rear surface of the finger saddle. When an operator'"'"'s fingers straddle the finger saddle ridge, the hand held computer device pivots about a pivot point defined between the fingers. The device can thus be readily maneuvered into a downward pivoting position, highly useful for decoding bar codes, and an upward pivoting position, highly useful for display viewing and applications involving display viewing such as web browsing and data input.
240 Citations
55 Claims
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1. A hand held computer device, said device comprising:
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an upper surface including at least one user interface component positioned thereon, said user interface component selected from the group consisting of a display, a pointer controller, a trigger button for actuating a sensor and a keyboard; a longitudinal axis; a lower surface; and a finger saddle ridge protruding downwardly from said lower surface, said finger saddle ridge having a front surface and a rear surface, said finger saddle ridge being sized to accommodate a pair of first and second adjacent human fingers, such that a first finger contacts a front surface and a second finger contacts said rear surface of said finger saddle ridge; wherein said at least one user interface component includes a trigger button and a pointer controller, and wherein said pointer controller is positioned on said upper surface rearward of said trigger button. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A portable data collection device configured to be held in a hand of an operator, said portable data collection device comprising:
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an imaging assembly; a control circuit coupled to said imaging assembly; a housing having an upper surface and a lower surface and a longitudinal axis, said housing encapsulating said imaging assembly and said control circuit; a trigger button disposed at said upper surface, wherein said portable data collection device is configured so that control circuit captures electronic image data when said trigger button is actuated; a keyboard disposed at said upper surface adjacent said trigger button; a first finger saddle disposed at said lower surface, said first finger saddle having a surface for receiving an operator index finger while said operator holds said device in a first grasping position; a second finger saddle disposed at said lower surface, said second finger saddle having a surface for receiving an operator index finger while said operator holds said device in a second grasping position; wherein said first finger saddle is positioned more proximate said trigger button than said keyboard; and wherein said second finger saddle is positioned more proximate said keyboard than said trigger button. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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13. A portable data collection device comprising:
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a hand held housing having a longitudinal axis, an upper surface and a lower surface; a touch screen disposed on said upper surface; a finger saddle disposed on said lower surface having a U-shaped configuration extending in a direction generally parallel to said longitudinal axis so as to conform to a shape of an index finger in a relaxed state; a virtual trigger button displayed on said display at a position on said touch screen generally opposite said finger saddle so that when an operator'"'"'s index finger is received by said finger saddle, a thumb of said operator is positioned proximate said trigger button and generally opposing said index finger. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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16. A portable computer comprising:
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a control circuit; a hand held housing having a longitudinal axis encapsulating said control circuit, said housing further having an upper surface and a lower surface; a user interface disposed on said upper surface; a line disposed on said lower surface for locating a finger of an operator, said line extending generally horizontally across said lower surface, said line being disposed on said lower surface generally opposite said user interface; wherein said portable computer further comprises a sensor and a touch screen, wherein said user interface is provided by a virtual trigger button displayed on said touch screen, said computer being configured so that said sensor is actuated when said virtual trigger button is depressed. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A hand held computer device, said device comprising:
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an upper surface including at least one user interface component positioned thereon, said user interface component selected from the group consisting of a display, a pointer controller, a trigger button for actuating a sensor and a keyboard; a longitudinal axis; a lower surface; and a finger saddle ridge protruding downwardly from said lower surface, said finger saddle ridge having a front surface and a rear surface, said finger saddle ridge being sized to accommodate a pair of first and second adjacent human fingers, such that a first finger contacts a front surface and a second finger contacts said rear surface of said finger saddle ridge; wherein said hand held computer device further includes an auxiliary finger saddle ridge disposed rearward of said finger saddle ridge, said auxiliary finger saddle ridge including a generally U-shaped configuration extending in a direction generally parallel to said longitudinal axis. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25)
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26. A hand held computer device, said device comprising:
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an upper surface including at least one user interface component positioned thereon, said user interface component selected from the group consisting of a display, a pointer controller, a trigger button for actuating a sensor and a keyboard; a longitudinal axis; a lower surface; and a finger saddle ridge protruding downwardly from said lower surface, said finger saddle ridge having a front surface and a rear surface, said finger saddle ridge being sized to accommodate a pair of first and second adjacent human fingers, such that a first finger contacts front surface and a second finger contacts said rear surface of said finger saddle ridge, said finger saddle ridge having a narrow cross sectional width taken along a plane extending from a front of said hand held computer device to a back of said hand held computer device, the cross sectional width narrowing in a direction from a top of said device to a bottom of said device. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A hand held computer device comprising:
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a hand held housing having an upper surface and a lower surface, and a longitudinal axis; at least one user interface disposed on said upper surface, said at least one user interface selected from the group consisting of a touch screen, a trigger button, a pointer controller, and a keyboard; a finger saddle ridge protruding downwardly from said lower surface and extending in a direction generally transverse to said longitudinal axis, said finger saddle ridge having a front surface adapted to receive an index finger of an operator and a rear surface adapted to receive a middle finger of said operator so that forward slippage of said hand held housing is limited by contact of said index finger with said front surface and further so that rearward slippage of said hand held housing is limited by contact of said middle finger with said rear surface of said finger saddle ridge, said finger saddle ridge having a narrowing cross sectional width taken along a plane extending from a front of said hand held computer device to a back of said hand held computer device, the cross sectional width narrowing in a direction from a top of said hand held computer device to a bottom of said hand held computer device. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A hand held computer device, said device comprising:
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an upper surface including at least one user interface component positioned thereon, said user interface component selected from the group consisting of a display, a pointer controller, a trigger button for actuating a sensor and a keyboard; a longitudinal axis; a lower surface; and a finger saddle ridge protruding downwardly from said lower surface, said finger saddle ridge having a front surface and a rear surface, said finger saddle ridge being sized to accommodate a pair of first and second adjacent human fingers, such that a first finger contacts front surface and a second finger contacts said rear surface of said finger saddle ridge; wherein at least one of said front surface and said rear surface of said finger saddle ridge includes a generally U-shaped configuration extending in a direction generally parallel to said longitudinal axis in such manner that said U-shaped configuration is visible from a bottom view of said device. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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47. A hand held computer device comprising:
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a hand held housing having an upper surface and a lower surface, and a longitudinal axis; at least one user interface disposed on said upper surface, said at least one user interface selected from the group consisting of a touch screen, a trigger button, a pointer controller, and a keyboard; a finger saddle ridge protruding downwardly from said lower surface and extending in a direction generally transverse to said longitudinal axis, said finger saddle ridge having a front surface adapted to receive an index finger of an operator and a rear surface adapted to receive a middle finger of said operator so that forward slippage of said hand held housing is limited by contact of said index finger with said front surface and further so that rearward slippage of said hand held housing is limited by contact of said middle finger with said rear surface of said finger saddle ridge; wherein at least one of a front and rear surface of said finger saddle ridge includes a generally U-shaped configuration extending in a direction generally parallel to said longitudinal axis in such manner that said U-shaped configuration is visible from a bottom view of said hand held computer device. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55)
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Specification