Smartphone-tablet hybrid device

• US 8,738,101 B1
• Filed: 03/11/2013
• Issued: 05/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Makor Issues & Rights Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Makor Issues & Rights Ltd.
• Inventors: Myr, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Dao, Minh D
• Application Number:
  US13/793,572
• Time in Patent Office: 442 Days
• Field of Search: 455/575.1, 455/575.3, 455/90.3, 455/566, 455/158.4, 455/414.1, 455/557, 455/346, 455/575.7, 455/128, 379/330, 379/428.01, 235/441, 235/439
• US Class Current: 455/575.1
• 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 1/1641 the display being formed by a plurality of foldable display components G06F1/1647 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1649 the additional display being independently orientable, e.g. for presenting information to a second user
• 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 1/0247 comprising more than two body parts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0256 wherein the modules are operable in the detached state, e.g. one module for the user interface and one module for the transceiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0266 for a display module assembly
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/16 including more than one display unit

Abstract

The present invention discloses a multi-state detachable smartphone-tablet hybrid mobile device comprising a number of display parts connected to each other. By opening one or some of the displays, more screen space becomes available, and the smartphone is therefore converted and expanded to the tablet device. With folding the displays back, the device becomes a smartphone again. The display parts connected with the special design hinge mechanism enabling opening of up to 360 degrees due to the special hinge mechanism. The invention further includes a detachable display parts feature, transforming the device to a number of single-display smartphone devices.

The device may further comprise a number of photovoltaic cells covering sufficient portion of each display part. Such a large number of photovoltaic cells will aim to produce enough energy to make it a completely self-charging device.

Claims

1. A multi-state detachable, electronic, mobile hybrid smartphone-tablet touch screen device comprising a number of display parts connected to each other by connecting hinges, the hinges connecting each pair of the display parts and allowing screens to unfold with an angle of up to 360 degrees with respect to the adjacent display part, the hinges including two opposing couplers, each coupler having a semicircular part with a number of cogs meshed to the cogs of the opposite coupler'"'"'s semicircular part, further comprising disengaging means for disengaging the display parts, wherein a first, a second, and a third display part are connected to each other in such a way that the device can be operated in each of three different configurations and two states:

in an attached state;

a smartphone configuration where the image display surface in the first display part is covered by a rear surface of the second display part, the image display surface in the second display part is covered by a rear surface of the third display part and the image display surface in the third display part is exposed for viewing and operation by a user;

a tablet configuration where the second and the third display parts have been moved from the closed state so that the image display surfaces in all the displays are exposed in essentially the same plane, and the device becomes operable essentially in the same manner as a tablet device;

a tilt configuration where the second and the third display parts have been moved from the smartphone configuration so that the image display surfaces of each of the display parts are inclined from their respective adjacent display parts at an angle of opening of less than 360 degrees;

and in a detached state, wherein the device is transformed from a multi-screen device to a number of independent single screen smartphone devices by using the disengaging means pertinent to each display.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the number of display parts is four or more.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the number of display parts is two.

4. The device of claim 1 further including locking means to lock the connecting hinges at an angle between 1 and 360 degrees, when the connecting hinges have rotated to said angle, facilitating the tilt state of the device.

5. The device of claim 1, further including self-charging multi-screen device means, wherein there are a sufficient number of differently shaped photovoltaic cells placed on the surface of each of the device'"'"'s screens to enable self-charging of the device'"'"'s battery.

6. The device of claim 1, further including multi-screen control action bar means for displaying a number of icons, the action bar means being disposed over the entire perimeter of the device'"'"'s screen.

7. The device of claim 1, further having a stretchable action bar means formed to be stretchable from its regular state to its stretched state, wherein in the smartphone state of the device and in the detached state of the device, one stretchable action bar means is situated along side the perimeter of each of the device'"'"'s screens, and wherein in the tablet state of the device and in the tilt state of the device, one stretchable action bar means is stretched over the perimeter of all screens.

8. The device of claim 1, further including a multi-screen satellite phone means to enable satellite phone communication.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein each screen is equipped with one or more cameras placed to enable taking 3D pictures and 3D video clips.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is a multi-SIM device holding several SIM cards, wherein all of the SIM cards may be active at the same time.

11. The device of claim 1, further including:

a self-charging photovoltaic means, and

an energy-efficient cooling mechanism to cool the device, the cooling mechanism utilizing Dual Piezoelectric Cooling Jets technology, the cooling mechanism being connected to the self-charging photovoltaic means to prevent battery life shortening.