Radiotelephones having contact-sensitive user interfaces and methods of operating same

• US 6,131,047 A
• Filed: 12/30/1997
• Issued: 10/10/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ericsson, Inc. (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Original Assignee: Ericsson, Inc. (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Inventors: Thornton, Curtis Wayne, Hayes, John Joseph Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Eisenzopf, Reinhard J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): APPIAH, CHARLES NANA
• Application Number:
  US09/001,173
• Time in Patent Office: 1,015 Days
• Field of Search: 379/433, 379/428, 455/556, 455/575, 455/95, 455/550, 455/90, 455/566, 345/173, 345/168, 345/156
• US Class Current: 455/566
• 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 1/1643 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 1/1692 the I/O peripheral being a secondary touch screen used as control interface, e.g. virtual buttons or sliders
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0339 Touch strips, e.g. orthogonal touch strips to control cursor movement or scrolling; single touch strip to adjust parameter or to implement a row of soft keys
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0236 using selection techniques to select from displayed items
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/043 using propagating acoustic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0202 Portable telephone sets, e.g. cordless phones, mobile phones or bar type handsets constructional features of telephone transmitters or receivers, e.g. of speakers or microphones H04M1/03
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0266 for a display module assembly
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/236 including keys on side or rear faces
• 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 digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041

Abstract

A radiotelephone includes a housing, and a radiotelephone communications transceiver and display are attached to the housing. A contact-sensitive transducer such as a resistive transducer, a capacitive transducer or a semiconductive transducer, is attached to the housing and produces an output signal that characterizes contact with a contact-sensitive surface of the contact-sensitive transducer. A controller is responsive to the output signal and operatively associated with the display and the radiotelephone communications transceiver, and controls at least one of the display and the radiotelephone communications transceiver according to the output signal of the contact-sensitive transducer. The controller, responsive to the contact-sensitive transducer, may determine a position of contact along an axis of the contact-sensitive transducer. A graphical object is selectively displayed based on the determined position of contact to thereby identify the graphical object, e.g., by highlighting one of a plurality of displayed graphical objects or by displaying a cursor that indicates one of a plurality of displayed graphical objects. In yet another embodiment, the controller is configured to cause the display or the radiotelephone communications transceiver to perform a plurality of actions. An action of the plurality of actions may be associated with an identified graphical object, and the controller may initiate the action associated with the identified graphical object in response to, for example, detection of a momentary contact of an object with the contact-sensitive transducer.

Claims

1. A radiotelephone, comprising:

a housing comprising a front surface and respective first and second edge surfaces disposed on respective opposite sides of said front surface;

a radiotelephone communications transceiver, supported by said housing;

a display, supported by said housing, that displays an image at said front surface of said housing;

a contact-sensitive transducer, supported by said housing and having a contact-sensitive surface disposed at at least one of said first and second edge surfaces, which produces an output signal that characterizes contact of an object along said contact-sensitive surface of said contact-sensitive transducer; and

a controller, responsive to said output signal and operatively associated with said display and said radiotelephone communications transceiver, which controls at least one of said display and said radiotelephone communications transceiver according to said output signal of said contact-sensitive transducer, wherein said controller is configured to selectively display a graphical object on said display according to said output signal of said contact-sensitive transducer, and wherein said controller comprises means, responsive to said contact-sensitive transducer, for scrolling displayed rows along an axis of said display based on the output signal of said contact-sensitive transducer.

2. A radiotelephone according to claim 1, wherein said means for scrolling comprises:

means, responsive to said output signal of contact-sensitive transducer, for detecting moving contact with said contact-sensitive transducer along said axis of said contact-sensitive transducer; and

means, responsive to said means for detecting moving contact, for scrolling displayed rows along said axis of said display based on the detected moving contact.

3. A radiotelephone, comprising:

a frame;

a radiotelephone communications transceiver, supported by said frame;

a display, supported by said frame;

a contact-sensitive transducer, supported by said frame, which produces an output signal that characterizes contact of an object along a contact-sensitive surface of said contact-sensitive transducer; and

a controller, responsive to said output signal and operatively associated with said display and said radiotelephone communications transceiver, which controls at least one of said display and said radiotelephone communications transceiver according to said output signal of said contact-sensitive transducer, wherein said controller has a first mode wherein said controller is responsive to contact with said contact-sensitive transducer and a second mode wherein said controller is unresponsive to contact with said contact-sensitive transducer, and wherein the radiotelephone further comprises means for placing said controller in one of said first mode or said second mode in response to an input from a user.

4. A radiotelephone, comprising:

a frame;

a radiotelephone communications transceiver, supported by said frame;

a display, supported by said frame;

a contact-sensitive transducer, supported by said frame, which produces an output signal that characterizes contact of an object along a contact-sensitive surface of said contact-sensitive transducer; and

a controller, responsive to said output signal and operatively associated with said display and said radiotelephone communications transceiver, which controls at least one of said display and said radiotelephone communications transceiver according to said output signal of said contact-sensitive transducer, wherein said controller comprises;

a first control circuit, responsive to said contact-sensitive transducer, which controls said radiotelephone communications transceiver and said display according to said output signal of said contact-sensitive transducer; and

a second control circuit, responsive to said contact-sensitive transducer, which controls power transfer from said power supply to said first control circuit according to said output signal from said contact-sensitive transducer.

5. A radiotelephone according to claim 4, wherein said first control circuit comprises a microcontroller, and wherein said second control circuit controls power transfer from said power supply to said microcontroller according to said output signal of said contact-sensitive transducer.

6. A radiotelephone, comprising:

a housing comprising a front surface and respective first and second edge surfaces disposed on respective opposite sides of said front surface;

a radiotelephone communications transceiver, supported by said housing;

a display, supported by said housing, that displays an image at said front surface of said housing;

first and second contact-sensitive transducers, supported by said housing and having respective contact-sensitive surfaces disposed at respective ones of said first and second edge surfaces, which produce respective first and second output signals that characterize contact along respective ones of said contact-sensitive surfaces of said first and second contact-sensitive transducers, wherein said first and second contact-sensitive transducers comprise respective first and second contact-sensitive strips mounted at respective ones of said first and second edge surfaces; and

a controller, responsive to said first and second output signals and operatively associated with said display and said radiotelephone communications transceiver, which controls at least one of said display and said radiotelephone communications transceiver according to said first and second output signals of said first and second contact-sensitive transducers, wherein said controller has a first mode wherein said controller is responsive to said first contact-sensitive transducer and unresponsive to said second contact-sensitive transducer, and a second mode wherein said controller is responsive to said second contact-sensitive transducer and unresponsive to said first contact-sensitive transducer, and further comprising means for placing said controller in one of said first mode or said second mode.