Handheld wireless communication device with chamfer keys

• US 8,000,741 B2
• Filed: 02/13/2007
• Issued: 08/16/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Hofer, Joseph, Griffin, Jason T., Corley, Cortez
• Primary Examiner(s): Kincaid; Lester
• Assistant Examiner(s): KELLEY, STEVEN SHAUN
• Application Number:
  US11/674,649
• Publication Number:
  US 20070281733A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,645 Days
• Field of Search: 455/556.2
• US Class Current: 455/556.2
• 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 1/1656 Details related to functional adaptations of the enclosure, e.g. to provide protection against EMI, shock, water, or to host detachable peripherals like a mouse or removable expansions units like PCMCIA cards, or to provide access to internal components for maintenance or to removable storage supports like CDs or DVDs, or to mechanically mount accessories mounting of accessories to a computer display G06F1/1607; display hoods G06F1/1603; cooling arrangements for portable computers G06F1/203
• 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 3/0219 Special purpose keyboards
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0489 using dedicated keyboard keys or combinations thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/233 including a pointing device, e.g. roller key, track ball, rocker switch or joystick constructional details of pointing devices per se G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72436 for text messaging, e.g. short messaging services [SMS] or e-mails
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/70 methods for entering alphabetical characters, e.g. multi-tap or dictionary disambiguation methods for entering alphabetical characters per se G06F3/0237

Abstract

A handheld wireless communication device configured to send and receive text messages. The device is hand cradleable with a body configured to be held in one hand by an operator during text entry. A display is located on a front face of the body and upon which information is displayed to the operator during text entry. A key field is also located on the front face of the body and that includes a plurality of alphanumeric input keys and menu control keys. A trackball navigation tool is located on the front face of the body. The keys have a primary engagement surface for receiving an operator'"'"'s touch engagement and a chamfer surface descending down from the primary engagement surface such that the chamfer surface defines a finger clearance space. A microprocessor is provided that receives operator commands from the keys and the trackball navigation tool and which affects corresponding changes to the display based on user input.

Claims

1. A handheld wireless communication device, said device comprising:

a display;

a navigation tool

a key field composed of a plurality of keys selected from a plurality of alphanumeric input keys and at least one menu key, said alphanumeric input keys comprising a plurality of alphabetic keys having letters associated therewith;

a microprocessor;

a plurality of said keys of said key field each being a resiliently depressible key having an upper surface presenting a primary engagement surface for receiving an operator'"'"'s touch-engagement when depressing the respective resiliently depressible key; and

at least one of said resiliently depressible keys further comprising a chamfer surface descending down from the primary engagement surface of said at least one resiliently depressible key toward a vertically adjacent resiliently depressible key, said chamfer surface defining a finger clearance space above said at least one resiliently depressible key whereby inadvertent depression of said at least one resiliently depressible key is avoided when the adjacent resiliently depressible key is depressed;

a plurality of said resiliently depressible keys are parallelogram-shaped in a top plan view and each of said plurality of parallelogram-shaped resiliently depressible keys is approximately one-half primary engagement surface and approximately one-half chamfer surface in the top plan view thereof; and

a plurality of said resiliently depressible keys are substantially U-shaped in a top plan view and each of said plurality of substantially U-shaped resiliently depressible keys is approximately one-half primary engagement surface and approximately one-half chamfer surface in the top plan view thereof,

wherein each of said plurality of U-shaped resiliently depressible keys has a top half and a bottom half, said top half being closer to the display than the bottom half, and wherein the top half is the chamfer surface, and the bottom half is the primary engagement surface.

2. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein each upper surface of said plurality of resiliently depressible keys is substantially flat and an aggregate of said upper surfaces defines an upper planar surface of said key field.

3. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 2, wherein said chamfer surface is oriented downwardly at an angle measuring between 30 and 60 degrees from the primary engagement surface of said at least one resiliently depressible key.

4. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein said letters associated with said alphabetic keys are arranged in a QWERTY layout.

5. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein said letters associated with said alphabetic keys are arranged in a reduced-QWERTY layout.

6. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein said letters associated with said alphabetic keys are arranged in a QWERTZ layout.

7. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein said alphanumeric input keys comprise numeric keys having numerals associated therewith and wherein said associated numerals are arranged in a telephone keypad layout.

8. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein said body is configured to be held in the hand of an operator with a long axis of said device substantially vertically oriented during text entry.

9. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 8, wherein said display is located in an upper portion of a front face of said body during text entry, said key field is located in a lower portion of the front face of said body during text entry and said navigation tool is located substantially between said key field and said display.

10. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein said navigation tool is at least partially surrounded by said key field.

11. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein a majority of said navigation tool is surrounded by said key field.

12. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

said handheld wireless communication device being configured to send and receive voice communications;

wherein at least one key of said key field is positioned adjacent to said navigation tool and said at least one key has a circular arc-shaped edge conformance fitting to a circular arc-shaped boundary about said trackball navigation tool; and

two call keys oppositely and laterally flank said navigation tool, one of said two call keys being a call initiation key and the other being a call termination key.

13. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 12, wherein said at least one key of said key field that is positioned adjacent to said navigation tool is a menu key that upon actuation displays an available action menu on said display.

14. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein the letters associated with said plurality of alphabetic keys are arranged in a QWERTY array of letters A-Z with an overlaid numeric phone key arrangement, said plurality of alphabetic keys numbering fewer than twenty-six and being arranged in four rows and five columns of keys, with the four rows comprising in order a first, second, third and fourth row, and the five columns comprising in order a first, second, third, fourth, and fifth column and wherein the numeric phone key arrangement is associated with the second, third and fourth columns.

15. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 14, wherein the QWERTY array of letters is associated with three of the four rows.

16. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 14, wherein the fourth row of keys includes an “

alt”

function in the first column, a “

space”

function in the third column, a “

shift”

function in the fourth column, and a “

return/enter”

function in the fifth column.

17. The handheld wireless communication device of claim 1, wherein at least one key, selected from the plurality of parallelogram-shaped resiliently depressible keys and the plurality of U-shaped resiliently depressible keys, is positioned adjacent to the trackball navigation tool and has a circular arc-shaped edge conformance fitting to a boundary of the navigation tool.

18. The handheld wireless communication device of claim 1, wherein said U-shaped keys are oriented such that a curved bottom of the U-shape faces away from the display.