Implementation of touchpad on rear surface of single-axis hinged device

• US 8,265,717 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2009
• Issued: 09/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola Mobility LLC (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Gorsica, John J., Kastritis, William G., Lombardi, Michael J., Ripley, Ross W., Spence, Michael, Ollayos, Marjorie M., Pierce, Amber M., Stone, Frank H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Afshar, Kamran
• Assistant Examiner(s): Siddiqui, Kashif
• Application Number:
  US12/492,369
• Publication Number:
  US 20100328250A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,173 Days
• Field of Search: 455566-575, 455/550.1, 361/600, 361/679, 379/433
• US Class Current: 455/575.3
• 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 1/1624 with sliding enclosures, e.g. sliding keyboard or display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1635 Details related to the integration of battery packs and other power supplies such as fuel cells or integrated AC adapter
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1643 the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1688 the I/O peripheral being integrated loudspeakers
• 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 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0214 Foldable telephones, i.e. with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position combined with translation movement H04M1/0235
• 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 1/23 Construction or mounting of dials or of equivalent devices; Means for facilitating the use thereof by improving visibility H04M1/22
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72469 for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector

Abstract

An improved mobile electronic device 100 with a unique thin and cost-effective form and design can have a large display 170 and a large full qwerty keypad 138 on the outward surface and can have a capacitive touchpad 186 on the inward surface of the flip 102 or slide that facilitates navigation on the display and can detect and recognize the flip or slide position within the mobile electronic device. A pattern of capacitive traces or wires 202 can be laid out within the layers of a printed circuit board to detect a user'"'"'s finger gestures without enlarging or adversely impacting the size of the mobile electronic device. The attractive mobile electronic device can also provide for the use of a speaker port 196 underneath a removable battery door 194 and a way to seal a port under a battery door for audio enhancement.

Claims

1. A mobile electronic device, comprising:

a base defining a cavity providing a battery compartment for containing a battery;

a movable portion operatively connected to the base, said movable portion being selected from the group consisting of a flip and a slide, said movable portion being movable from an open position to a closed position and vice versa;

said base and said movable portion each having an outward surface and an inward surface;

a keypad on the outward surface of said base;

a battery door on the inward surface of the base for access to the battery in the cavity of the base in the open position;

a touchscreen display on the outward surface of the movable portion;

a touchpad on the inward surface of the movable portion, said touchpad being positioned transversely opposite of said touchscreen display;

said touchscreen display on the outward surface of the moveable portion and said keypad on the outward surface of said base face outwardly and away from each other in the closed position and are visible and accessible to a user in the closed position; and

said touchpad on the inward surface of the moveable portion and said battery door on the inward surface of the base face inwardly and towards each other in the closed position and are hidden from view and are inaccessible to the user in the closed position.

2. A mobile electronic device in accordance with claim 1 wherein said flip is pivotably connected by a hinge to said base, said base comprising lateral ends and elongated longitudinal sides, said longitudinal sides being longer than said lateral ends, and said hinge is positioned along a middle portion of one of the longitudinal sides so that said flip is pivotable in a landscape mode.

3. A mobile electronic device in accordance with claim 1 wherein said slide comprises a slidable portion and is slidably connected to said base.

4. A mobile electronic device in accordance with claim 1 wherein said touchpad is selected from the group consisting of a touchpad with a touchpad sensor and a capacitive touchpad for detecting the position of the movable portion.

5. A mobile electronic device in accordance with claim 1 including a printed circuit board in said movable portion containing a pattern of capacitive touch traces embedded within said printed circuit board for detecting a user'"'"'s finger gestures without increasing the size of the mobile electronic device.

6. A mobile electronic device in accordance with claim 1 wherein:

said touchpad operatively connected to said touchscreen display; and

said touchpad provides functionality for navigating a user interface on said touchscreen display.

7. A mobile electronic device in accordance with claim 1 wherein said touchpad is positioned to be touched by the user without blocking viewing of said touchscreen display.

8. A mobile electronic device in accordance with claim 1, wherein:

said mobile electronic device is selected from the group of consisting of;

a flip phone, slider phone, portable networking device, internet communications device, clamshell device, radio telephone, cellular phone, mobile phone, smart phone, portable gaming device, personal digital assistant, wireless e-mail device, two-way pager, handheld electronic device, and combinations thereof; and

said mobile electronic device is of a compact size for readily fitting in a shirt pocket, pants pocket, suit pocket, and/or purse.

9. A mobile electronic device in accordance with claim 1 including:

a speaker in said base;

a speaker port hidden underneath said battery door for emitting sound from said speaker; and

an acoustic seal positioned underneath said battery door for sealing said speaker port for audio enhancement.

10. A mobile electronic device comprising:

a base defining a compartment for containing a battery and speaker;

a flip pivotally connected to said base, said flip being pivotable from a closed position in a tablet mode, to a partially open position in a media viewing mode and to a fully open position in a text-entry mode and vice versa;

said base and said flip each having an outward surface and an inward surface;

a keypad on the outward surface of said base, said keypad being selected from the group consisting of a qwerty keypad, capacitive keypad, keyboard, alpha numeric keys, and a base touchscreen, and said keypad facing downwardly when said flip is in said partially open position;

a touchscreen display on the outer surface of said flip, said touchscreen display being positioned opposite said keypad when said flip is in the closed position in the tablet mode so that both the touchscreen display and said keypad are visible and accessible to a user in the closed position in the tablet mode, said touchscreen display being positioned in proximity to said keypad when said flip in a fully open position, in the text-entry mode, and said touchscreen display being positioned at an angle of inclination when said flip is in a partially open position in the media viewing mode;

a touchpad on the inward surface of said flip and positioned transversely opposite of said touchscreen display, and said touchpad being hidden and inaccessible to the user when said flip is in said closed position in the tablet mode;

a removable battery door positioned along the inward surface of said base and positioned transversely opposite of said keypad, and said removable battery door being substantially hidden and inaccessible to the user when said flip is in the closed position in the tablet mode;

said touchpad, keypad, battery door and touchscreen display being accessible by the user in the fully open position in the text-entry mode,

a speaker port hidden underneath said removable battery door, said speaker port providing an acoustical passageway for emitting sound from said speaker; and

an acoustic seal positioned underneath said battery door for sealing said speaker port and directing travel of sound from the speaker underneath said battery door to produce enhanced audio.

11. A mobile electronic device in accordance with claim 10 wherein said touchpad is positioned to be touched by the user without blocking viewing of said display, and said touchpad is selected from the group consisting of a touchpad with a touchpad sensor and a capacitive touchpad for detecting the position of said flip.

12. A mobile electronic device in accordance with claim 10 including a printed circuit board in said flip containing a pattern of capacitive touch traces or wires embedded within said printed circuit board for detecting a user'"'"'s finger gestures without increasing the size of the mobile electronic device.

13. A mobile electronic device in accordance with claim 10 wherein:

said touchscreen display comprises a user interface; and

said touchpad comprises a touchpad sensor comprising a navigator which when touched by the user translates to motion within the user interface on said touchscreen display.

14. A mobile electronic device in accordance with claim 13 wherein said motion is selected from the group consisting of highlighting a web link on said display, scrolling through text on said display, tapping or clicking to enter a command on said display, implementing a mouse cursor on the user interface in response to motion of a user'"'"'s finger on said touchpad, and combinations thereof.

15. A mobile electronic device in accordance with claim 10, wherein:

said mobile electronic device is selected from the group of consisting of;

a flip phone, portable networking device, internet communications device, clamshell device, radio telephone, cellular phone, mobile phone, smart phone, portable gaming device, personal digital assistant, wireless e-mail device, two-way pager, handheld electronic device, and combinations thereof; and

said mobile electronic device is of a compact size for readily fitting in a shirt pocket, pants pocket, suit pocket, and/or purse.

16. A mobile electronic device comprising:

a base defining a compartment for containing a battery and speaker;

a flip pivotally connected to said base, said flip being pivotable from a closed position in a tablet mode, to a partially open position in a media view mode and to a fully open position in an e-mail/text-entry mode and vice versa;

said base and said flip each having an outward surface and an inward surface;

a backlit keypad on the outward surface of said base with back lighting, said backlit keypad selected from the group consisting of a qwerty keypad, capacitive keypad, keyboard, alpha numeric keys, and a base touchscreen, and said backlit keypad facing downwardly when said flip is in said partially open position in a media viewing mode;

a touchscreen display comprising a touchscreen on the outer surface of said flip, said touchscreen display being positioned opposite said keypad when said flip is in a closed position in the tablet mode, said display facing upwardly with and in proximity to said keypad when said flip in a fully open position in the e-mail/text-entry mode, and said touchscreen display being positioned at an angle of inclination when said flip is in a partially open position in the media viewing mode;

a touchpad on the inward surface of said flip and positioned transversely opposite of said touchscreen display, said touchpad comprising a capacitive touchpad for detecting the position of said flip, said touchpad is positioned to be touched by a user without blocking viewing of said touchscreen display when said flip is in said partially open in the media viewing mode and in said fully open position in the e-mail/text-entry modes; and

said touchpad being hidden and inaccessible to the user when said flip is in said closed position in the tablet mode;

a removable battery door positioned along the inward surface of said base and positioned transversely opposite of said keypad, and said removable battery door being substantially hidden from view and inaccessible to the user when said flip is in the closed position in the tablet mode and said removable battery door being accessible to the user for accessing the battery when the flip is in the fully open position in the e-mail/text-entry mode;

said touchscreen display on the outward surface of the moveable portion and said keypad on the outward surface of said base face outwardly and away from each other in the closed position in the tablet mode and are visible and accessible to a user in the closed position in the tablet mode;

said touchpad on the inward surface of the moveable portion and said battery door on the inward surface of the base facing inwardly and towards each other in the closed position in the tablet mode and are hidden from view and are inaccessible to the user in the closed position in the tablet mode;

said touchpad, keypad and touchscreen display being accessible to the user in the fully open position in the e-mail/text-entry mode;

a speaker port hidden underneath said removable battery door, said speaker port providing an acoustical passageway for emitting sound from said speaker; and

an acoustic seal slidably positioned underneath said battery door for sealing said speaker port and directing travel of sound from the speaker underneath said battery door to produce enhanced audio.

17. A mobile electronic device in accordance with claim 16 including a printed circuit board in said flip containing a pattern of capacitive touch traces embedded within said printed circuit board for detecting a user'"'"'s finger gestures without increasing the size of the mobile electronic device.

18. A mobile electronic device in accordance with claim 16 wherein:

said touchscreen display comprises a user interface; and

said touchpad comprises a touchpad sensor comprising a navigator which when touched by the user translates to motion within the user interface on said touchscreen display; and

said motion is selected from the group consisting of highlighting a web link on said display, scrolling through text on said display, tapping or clicking to enter a command on said display, implementing a mouse cursor on the user interface in response to motion of a user'"'"'s finger on said touchpad, and combinations thereof.

19. A mobile electronic device in accordance with claim 16, wherein:

said mobile electronic device is selected from the group of consisting of;

a flip phone, portable networking device, internet communications device, clamshell device, radio telephone, cellular phone, mobile phone, smart phone, portable gaming device, personal digital assistant, wireless e-mail device, two-way pager, handheld electronic device, and combinations thereof; and

said mobile electronic device is of a compact size for readily fitting in a shirt pocket, pants pocket, suit pocket, and/or purse.