Portable electronic product with a Qwerty keyboard

• US 7,561,421 B2
• Filed: 06/06/2006
• Issued: 07/14/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gula Consulting Limited Liability Company (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Lite-On Technology Corporation
• Inventors: Rehn, Christopher Chongbin, Lin, Chi-Hsiung, Hsu, Hsiang-Ti
• Primary Examiner(s): NASRI, JAVAID H
• Application Number:
  US11/447,096
• Publication Number:
  US 20070146983A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,134 Days
• Field of Search: 361679-684, 361/686
• US Class Current: 361/679.09
• 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 1/1662 Details related to the integrated keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1671 Special purpose buttons or auxiliary keyboards, e.g. retractable mini keypads, keypads or buttons that remain accessible at closed laptop G06F1/1666 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1677 for detecting open or closed state or particular intermediate positions assumed by movable parts of the enclosure, e.g. detection of display lid position with respect to main body in a laptop, detection of opening of the cover of battery compartment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1614 Image rotation following screen orientation, e.g. switching from landscape to portrait mode

Abstract

A portable electronic product with a Qwerty keyboard has a single display for reducing the manufacturing cost and a Qwerty keyboard for inputting data more conveniently. The portable electronic product includes a housing, a Qwerty keyboard mounted in the housing and a display. The Qwerty keyboard is exposed to a bottom surface of the housing and has an outer surface that is lower than the bottom surface of the housing. The display is assembled on a top surface of the housing and has a side edge that is partially or fully mounted with one edge of the housing pivotally. Therefore, the display is able to swivel relative to the housing. When the user needs to input data, the display can be turned to a position that simultaneously faces to the user with the Qwerty keyboard.

Claims

1. A portable electronic product with a Qwerty keyboard, comprising:

a housing having opposed top and bottom surfaces, and a Qwerty keyboard disposed to overlay a substantial portion of one of said top and bottom surfaces of said housing, said Qwerty keyboard having an exposed surface being recessed within said one of said top and bottom surfaces of said housing; and

a display, disposed on the other of said top and bottom surfaces of said housing, said display being pivotally coupled to said housing to overlay a portion of the other of said top and bottom housing surfaces in a first operational position, said display being pivotally displaceable relative to said housing to a second operational position at the opposed one of the top and bottom housing surfaces for operation thereat responsive to said Qwerty keyboard actuation, whereby when a user is not inputting data, a bottom surface of said display is closed in said first operational position; and

when the user needs to input data, said display is pivotally displaced to said second operational position adjacent said Qwerty keyboard so that the user can view said display while inputting data.

2. The portable electronic product with a Qwerty keyboard as in claim 1, wherein an included angle between said display and said housing is 0 degrees to 270 degrees.

3. The portable electronic product with a Qwerty keyboard as in claim 1, wherein said housing is formed with a receiving space for receiving said display, and said display has a top surface aligned to said top surface of said housing.

4. The portable electronic product with a Qwerty keyboard as in claim 1, wherein said housing has a circuit board mounted therein, said circuit board has a CPU and a display control unit for controlling a displaying direction of said display.

5. The portable electronic product with a Qwerty keyboard as in claim 4, wherein a sensor is disposed between said housing and said display, when said display is rotated outward, said sensor transmits an actuating signal to said CPU for actuating said display control unit to swivel the displaying direction of said display.

6. The portable electronic product with a Qwerty keyboard as in claim 1, further comprising a backlight source adjacent to said Qwerty keyboard and a backlight switch disposed between said display and said housing, said backlight switch switches said backlight source on or off.

7. The portable electronic product with a Qwerty keyboard as in claim 6, wherein said Qwerty keyboard further comprises a semi-opaque protective layer disposed at an outer side thereof, whereby when said backlight source is turned off, said Qwerty keyboard is shielded by said protective layer and substantially hidden under said protective layer, and when said backlight source is turned on, said Qwerty keyboard is visible through said protective layer.

8. The portable electronic product with a Qwerty keyboard as in claim 7, wherein said Qwerty keyboard has an electronic touch panel disposed under said protective layer, said Qwerty keyboard includes characters printed on at least one of an inside surface of said protective layer and a top surface of said electronic touch panel.

9. The portable electronic product with a Qwerty keyboard as in claim 7, wherein said Qwerty keyboard has a mechanical key layer disposed under said protective layer, said letters of said Qwerty keyboard are printed on an inside surface of said protective layer or a top surface of said mechanical key layer.

10. The portable electronic product with a Qwerty keyboard as in claim 1, wherein said bottom surface of said housing is concaved with a depression, said Qwerty keyboard is disposed in said depression.

11. The portable electronic product with a Qwerty keyboard as in claim 1, wherein said bottom surface of said housing has a plurality of anti-slip pads protruding therefrom.