Hand-held electronic device with a keyboard optimized for use with the thumbs
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A handheld electronic communication device having a left edge and a right edge and comprising:
- a keyboard having twenty-six letter keys and at least one other key,the twenty-six letter keys and the at least one other key being arranged in an upper row, a middle row, and a lower row,the rows of keys being bisected by a vertical reference line substantially midway between the left side of the key nearest the left edge of the device and the right side of the key nearest the right edge of the device,the upper row including 10 letter keys, the middle row including 9 letter keys and the lower row including 7 letter keys,each letter key in the lower row being in substantial vertical alignment with a letter key in the middle row,each letter key in the middle row being in substantial vertical alignment with a letter key in the upper row, andthe keys in each of the rows being disposed on opposite sides of the vertical reference line such that in the upper row five letter keys are disposed on each side of the vertical reference line, in the middle row five letter keys are disposed on one side of the vertical reference line and four letter keys are disposed on the other side of the vertical reference line, and in the lower row four letter keys are disposed on the one side of the vertical reference line and three letter keys are disposed on the other side of the vertical reference line.
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Abstract
A hand-held electronic device with a keyboard optimized for use with the thumbs is disclosed. In order to operate within the limited space available on a hand-held electronic device, the present invention optimizes the placement and shape of the keys, preferably using keys that are oval or oblong in shape, and that are placed at angles designed to facilitate thumb-typing. The angles at which keys on either side of the keyboard are placed is complimentary.
155 Citations
36 Claims
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1. A handheld electronic communication device having a left edge and a right edge and comprising:
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a keyboard having twenty-six letter keys and at least one other key, the twenty-six letter keys and the at least one other key being arranged in an upper row, a middle row, and a lower row, the rows of keys being bisected by a vertical reference line substantially midway between the left side of the key nearest the left edge of the device and the right side of the key nearest the right edge of the device, the upper row including 10 letter keys, the middle row including 9 letter keys and the lower row including 7 letter keys, each letter key in the lower row being in substantial vertical alignment with a letter key in the middle row, each letter key in the middle row being in substantial vertical alignment with a letter key in the upper row, and the keys in each of the rows being disposed on opposite sides of the vertical reference line such that in the upper row five letter keys are disposed on each side of the vertical reference line, in the middle row five letter keys are disposed on one side of the vertical reference line and four letter keys are disposed on the other side of the vertical reference line, and in the lower row four letter keys are disposed on the one side of the vertical reference line and three letter keys are disposed on the other side of the vertical reference line. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A handheld electronic communication device having a left edge and a right edge and comprising:
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a keyboard having twenty-six letter keys and at least one other key, the twenty-six letter keys and the at least one other key being arranged in an upper row, a middle row, and a lower row, the rows of keys being bisected by a vertical reference line substantially midway between the left side of the key nearest the left edge of the device and the right side of the key nearest the right edge of the device, the upper row including 10 letter keys, the middle row including 9 letter keys and the lower row including 7 letter keys, each letter key in the lower row being in substantial vertical alignment with a letter key in the middle row, each letter key in the middle row being in substantial vertical alignment with a letter key in the upper row, the keys in each of the rows being disposed on opposite sides of the vertical reference line such that in the upper row five letter keys are disposed on each side of the vertical reference line, in the middle row five letter keys are disposed on a one side of the vertical reference line and four letter keys are disposed on an other side of the vertical reference line, and in the lower row four letter keys are disposed on a one side of the vertical reference line and three letter keys are disposed on an other side of the vertical reference line. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A handheld electronic communication device having a left edge and a right edge and comprising:
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a keyboard having a plurality of letter keys each of which bears the designation of at least one of the 26 letters of the alphabet, and at least one other key, the letter keys being arranged in an upper row in which the letter keys include the designations of 10 letters of the alphabet, a middle row in which the letter keys include the designations of 9 letters of the alphabet, and a lower row in which the letter keys include the designations of 7 letters of the alphabet, the rows of keys being bisected by a vertical reference line substantially midway between the left side of the letter key nearest the left edge of the device and the right side of the letter key nearest the right edge of the device, the letter keys in the upper row being distributed from adjacent the left edge to adjacent the right edge; each letter key in the lower row being in substantial vertical alignment with a letter key in the middle row and a letter key in the upper row, the letter designations of the letter keys in each of the rows being disposed on opposite sides of the vertical reference line such that in the upper row five letter designations in the upper row are disposed on each side of the vertical line, in the middle row five letter designations are disposed on one side of the vertical reference line and four letter designations are disposed on the other side of the vertical reference line, and in the lower row four letter designations are disposed on the one side of the vertical reference line, and three letter designations are disposed on the other side of the vertical reference line. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A handheld electronic communication device having a left edge and a right edge and comprising:
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a keyboard having twenty-six letter keys and at least one other key, the twenty-six letter keys and the at least one other key being arranged in an upper row, a middle row, and a lower row, the rows of keys being bisected by a vertical reference line substantially midway between the left side of the key nearest the left edge of the device and the right side of the key nearest the right edge of the device, the upper row including 10 letter keys, the middle row including 9 letter keys and the lower row including 7 letter keys, each letter key in the middle row being in substantial vertical alignment with a letter key in the upper row, and the letter keys in each of the rows being disposed on opposite sides of the vertical reference line such that five letter keys in each of the upper row and the middle row and at least two letter keys in the lower row are disposed on the same side of the vertical reference line, and the other letter keys in each row are disposed on the other side of the vertical reference line. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A handheld electronic communication device having a left edge and a right edge and comprising:
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a keyboard having twenty-six letter keys and at least one other key, the twenty-six letter keys and the at least one other key being arranged in an upper row, a middle row, and a lower row, the rows of keys being bisected by a vertical reference line substantially midway between the left side of the key nearest the left edge of the device and the right side of the key nearest the right edge of the device, the upper row including 10 letter keys, the middle row including 9 letter keys and the lower row including 7 letter keys, each letter key in one of the middle and the lower row being in substantial vertical alignment with a letter key in the upper row, and the letter keys in each of the rows being disposed on opposite sides of the vertical reference line such that five letter keys in each of the upper row and the middle row and at least two letter keys in the lower row are disposed on the same side of the vertical reference line. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36)
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Specification