WO2002037806A2 - Electrical device with a rotatable keypad - Google Patents

Electrical device with a rotatable keypad Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2002037806A2
WO2002037806A2 PCT/FI2001/000895 FI0100895W WO0237806A2 WO 2002037806 A2 WO2002037806 A2 WO 2002037806A2 FI 0100895 W FI0100895 W FI 0100895W WO 0237806 A2 WO0237806 A2 WO 0237806A2
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
keypad
key
keys
display
electrical device
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
PCT/FI2001/000895
Other languages
French (fr)
Other versions
WO2002037806A3 (en
Inventor
Todd Wood
Frank Nuovo
Seiji Morioka
Eduardo Salazar
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Nokia Inc
Original Assignee
Nokia Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Nokia Inc filed Critical Nokia Inc
Priority to EP01980556A priority Critical patent/EP1334604B1/en
Priority to DE60123267T priority patent/DE60123267T2/en
Priority to AU2002212370A priority patent/AU2002212370A1/en
Publication of WO2002037806A2 publication Critical patent/WO2002037806A2/en
Publication of WO2002037806A3 publication Critical patent/WO2002037806A3/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F1/00—Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
    • G06F1/16—Constructional details or arrangements
    • G06F1/1613—Constructional details or arrangements for portable computers
    • G06F1/1626—Constructional details or arrangements for portable computers with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F1/00—Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
    • G06F1/16—Constructional details or arrangements
    • G06F1/1613—Constructional details or arrangements for portable computers
    • G06F1/1633—Constructional details or arrangements of portable computers not specific to the type of enclosures covered by groups G06F1/1615 - G06F1/1626
    • G06F1/1662—Details related to the integrated keyboard
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
    • H04M1/02—Constructional features of telephone sets
    • H04M1/0202—Portable telephone sets, e.g. cordless phones, mobile phones or bar type handsets
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
    • H04M1/02—Constructional features of telephone sets
    • H04M1/23—Construction or mounting of dials or of equivalent devices; Means for facilitating the use thereof
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
    • H04M1/72—Mobile telephones; Cordless telephones, i.e. devices for establishing wireless links to base stations without route selection
    • H04M1/724—User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
    • H04M1/72448—User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones with means for adapting the functionality of the device according to specific conditions
    • H04M1/7246—User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones with means for adapting the functionality of the device according to specific conditions by connection of exchangeable housing parts
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
    • H04M1/72—Mobile telephones; Cordless telephones, i.e. devices for establishing wireless links to base stations without route selection
    • H04M1/724—User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
    • H04M1/72466—User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones with selection means, e.g. keys, having functions defined by the mode or the status of the device
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F2200/00—Indexing scheme relating to G06F1/04 - G06F1/32
    • G06F2200/16—Indexing scheme relating to G06F1/16 - G06F1/18
    • G06F2200/161—Indexing scheme relating to constructional details of the monitor
    • G06F2200/1614—Image rotation following screen orientation, e.g. switching from landscape to portrait mode

Definitions

  • This invention relates to keypads for electrical devices and is particularly, but not exclusively, related to keypads for mobile or portable devices, such as mobile telephones.
  • a keypad should enable a user to select keys rapidly, in a way that is natural and intuitive and without involving too much unnecessary finger movement.
  • Keypads for mobile telephones generally have a common, basic, configuration shown in Figure 1. Keys which are used in dialling numbers (and for other pur- poses) are typically provided in a 4 by 3 matrix having a first row of numerals “1", “2” and “3", a second row of numerals “4", “5" and “6", a third row of numerals "7", “8” and “9” and a fourth row having a first character/function key, numeral "0" and a second character/function key.
  • Another arrangement of keys which is usually located above this arrangement, is used to carry out other functions such as initi- ating and terminating telephone calls and navigating around the screen and various menus of a user interface of the mobile telephone.
  • WO 98/24103 and WO 99/48120 propose alternative keypad arrangements for mobile telephones in which numeral keys are disposed in a generally oval configuration.
  • an electrical device having a body, a display, and a keypad in which the keypad is rotatable with respect to the body.
  • the orientation of the display may be changed with respect to the body whilst the body is rotated about the keypad. This may be used to maintain a particular orientational relationship between the keypad and the display. This may be useful in allowing the mobile terminal to be used in different ori- entations.
  • the keypad has a plurality of individual numeral keys assigned to individual numerals.
  • the keypad has a navigation key for navigating about the display.
  • the numeral keys assigned to individual numerals may be disposed about the navigation key.
  • the display has a non-unity aspect ratio.
  • the numeral keys are disposed in a circular pattern about the naviga- tion key. All of the numeral keys may be disposed about the navigation key. In an embodiment in which the keypad is circular, it may be rotated particularly conveniently.
  • the keypad may be rotated by a user to optimise the electrical device for both horizontal and vertical viewing modes. It is particularly convenient in providing ready right- and left-handed useability. In this way it is possible for a user to change use of such a display from a portrait mode to a landscape mode whilst maintaining the orientation of the keypad.
  • the keypad is rotatabie by hand.
  • it is driven by an electrical motor.
  • the keypad is removeable. It may be "rotated” by being removed from the electrical device and then being replaced in a different configuration. Accord- ing to the invention both the orientation of the keys and the orientation of the display may be changed so that they maintain a correspondence.
  • the navigation key may be used, among other things, to control movement of a cursor in the display or to move a selection highlighter through menus in the display.
  • the term “navigation key” refers to any suitable manually operable input receiving means and includes such things as joysticks, rollers and the like.
  • the numeral keys are arranged in an annulus.
  • the annulus may comprise a single integrated piece or it may be a plurality of separate pieces. In the latter case, a separate piece is assigned to each of the numeral keys. Separate pieces may be able to move relatively to each other, for example when there is a key-press for a particular key.
  • the annulus is rotatabie.
  • the navigation key may also be rotatabie.
  • the annulus and the navigation key are keyed together so that they ro- tate together.
  • the keypad comprises a keymat defining the plurality of keys and a corresponding plurality of pressure sensitive areas which detect key presses and produce corresponding electrical signals.
  • the electrical device is a wireless communications device. It may be a mobile terminal such as a mobile telephone.
  • the keys are circularly disposed in numerical order, their positions and their sequence have a logical correspondence. This can provide a convenient keypad in which location of the keys is straightforward.
  • Figure 1 shows a prior art keypad.
  • Figure 2 shows a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 3 shows detail of the keypad of Figure 2.
  • Figure 4 shows the mobile terminal of Figure 2 in one orientation.
  • Figure 5 shows the mobile terminal of Figure 2 in another orientation.
  • Figure 2 shows an embodiment of a mobile terminal 50 according to the invention comprising a body 52, a display 54, a keypad 56, an on/off button 58, an ear- phone 60 and a microphone 62.
  • the display 54 has a non-unity aspect ratio.
  • the keypad 56 comprises a keymat comprising a plurality of keys located above a pressure sensitive part.
  • the pressure sensitive part has a plurality of pressure sensitive areas which detect key presses and produce corresponding electrical signals.
  • An individual key comprises a part of the keymat and its corresponding pressure sensitive area on the pressure sensitive part.
  • the keypad 56 comprises a set of numerical keys disposed in a circular arrangement around a centrally located navigation key 72.
  • the numeral keys 1 to 9 and 0 are provided adjacent to one another in a circular arrangement such that neighbouring numeral keys are in nu- merical order.
  • key 0 is located between keys 9 and 1.
  • the asterisk key 68 and the hash key 70 are located outside the circular arrangement although in another embodiment, they could be located inside the circular arrangement or indeed as part of the circular arrangement.
  • one preferred arrangement is for the sequence of keys to be arranged in locations corresponding to a clock face in which keys 1 to 9 have locations corresponding to clock face numerals 1 to 9, key 0 has a location corresponding to clock face numeral 10, the asterisk key has a location corresponding to clock face numeral 11 and the hash key has a location corresponding to clock face numeral 12.
  • the numeral keys are not disposed about a navigation key.
  • the numeral keys are disposed in the form of an annulus surrounding the navigation key 72.
  • the annulus is segmented into separate pieces each of which can be individually pressed without necessarily causing pressing of any other part of the annulus.
  • the keys are not only used for numerical input but they are also used to input alphabetical and other characters.
  • the key 2 typically has an alphabet of characters 2, a, b and c. Although other characters may be selectable, for example equivalents of these characters for various languages, only these four characters will be considered for the sake of simplicity.
  • pressing key 2 selects numeral 2.
  • letter a is selected by a single key-press of this key
  • letter b is selected by a double keypress of this key
  • letter c is selected by a triple key-press of this key and so on.
  • Other letters of the alphabet are present on others of the keys.
  • the key 1 also has a set of punctua- tion marks assigned to it.
  • the alphabetical characters and punctuation marks, as well as the numerical characters, can be used in the writing of text, for example, SMS messages.
  • the keymat of the keypad 56 is configured to rotate with respect to the body 52.
  • the mobile terminal 50 comprises angular orientation measurement means which can measure the angular orientation of the keymat with respect to the body and change the mapping of the keymat to the corresponding pressure sensitive areas so that pressing a particular key produces an electrical signal, which is understood by the mobile terminal 50 as being associated with that key.
  • angular orientation in which the mobile terminal is used can be changed.
  • the mobile terminal can be turned on its side whilst still presenting its display 54 to a user and the orientation of the display 54 with respect to the body 52 can be changed to that it is in a different orientation, for example in a landscape orientation rather than in a portrait orientation.
  • the display may be convenient to connect the display to the angular orientation measurement means so that an an- gular change of the orientation of the keymat of the keypad 56 additionally causes an angular change in the presentation of an image on the display 54.
  • the keymat of the keypad 56 and the image being displayed could both be rotated by 90°. This could be useful if the display is being used to display an image which is not suitable to the aspect ratio of the display.
  • the mobile terminal 50 is provided with locking means which locks the keymat and the body 52 into a particular orientation.
  • the locking means may lock the keymat and the body 52 so that no relative movement is permitted between them or so that relative movement is only permitted when a sufficiently high rotational force is applied to the keymat.
  • an interchangeable keymat allows the user to configure the hardware interface of the mobile terminal 50 in a way which is convenient and suitable to their needs and preferences.
  • the keymat 56 and the body 52 may have complementary decorative patterns so that the patterns match when a key and a pressure sensitive area are in registration. Alternatively, the patterns may be such that there are different degrees of matching between the keymat and the body 52 at different angular orientations at which the keys are in registration with the pressure sensitive areas. If interchangeable keymats are used, this may provided a suitable way to "rotate" the keymat. The keymat may be removed from the mobile terminal 50 and then be replaced in an alternative configuration.
  • mapping between the keys of the keymat and their corresponding pressure sensitive areas would also be changed so that pressing a particular key produces an appropriate electrical signal.
  • orientation of the display 54 may be correspondingly changed so that the keymat and the display 54 are in matching orientations.
  • the navigation key 72 can be either self-orientating like the display or it can be part of the keymat that is removed and replaced. If it is self-orientating, it remains in place when the keymat is removed and the mapping between arrow functions of the navigation key and corresponding pressure sensitive areas are changed.
  • the annulus is a single integral piece having zones disposed at different angular positions assigned to different numerals. Pressing different zones causes different numerals to be selected and entered into the display.
  • Figure 3 shows detail of the keypad 56 of Figure 2. It shows in side view a keymat 80 and a pressure sensitive part 82 located beneath it.
  • the keypad 80 and the navigation key 72 are keyed together against relative rotational movement. For example, they may comprise an integral piece.
  • Both the keymat 80 and the pressure sensitive part 82 have cooperating contact points 84.
  • the body 52 is shown as a fragmentary part.
  • the keymat 80 is connected via an axle 86 to an electric motor 88.
  • the electrical motor 88 is able to drive the keymat relatively to the pressure sensitive part 82 and the body 52.
  • the pressure sensitive part 82 and the electrical motor 88 are both connected to, and controlled by, a controller 90 which ensures that, as the keymat 80 is rotated by the electrical motor 88, the mapping of corresponding contact points 84 is changed accordingly so that pressing a particular numeral key of the keymat still produces the appropriate electrical signal so that the mobile terminal 50 correctly recognises the keypress.
  • the keys may be arranged alphabetically according to the alphabetical letters assigned to the keys.
  • alphabetical layout there may be more than ten keys assigned to alphabetical letters arranged in a circle.
  • the keys may be arranged in a so-called QWERTY layout in which each individual letter is assigned to a corresponding individual key or pluralities of letter are assigned to corresponding individuals keys like in Figure 1 but the sequence of let- ters follows the QWERTY sequence rather than being alphabetical.
  • a mobile terminal such as a mobile telephone
  • the invention can be applied to other devices such as computers, personal digital assistants and entry terminals for input- ting data or access codes, for example to gain access to a building or to another secure location, for example a bank account.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Human Computer Interaction (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Telephone Set Structure (AREA)
  • Input From Keyboards Or The Like (AREA)
  • Switches With Compound Operations (AREA)
  • Push-Button Switches (AREA)
  • Selective Calling Equipment (AREA)
  • Telephone Function (AREA)

Abstract

A mobile telephone (50) comprises a body (52), a display (54) and a keypad (56). The keypad has a plurality of individual numeral keys assigned to individual nu-merals and is rotatable with respect to the body. In this way it is possible for the display to remain in a fixed orientation with respect to a user whilst the body is ro-tated about the display so that the mobile telephone can be converted from right-handed to left-handed use or so that the orientation of the display can be moved from a first orientation to a second orientation.

Description

KEYPADS FOR ELECTRICAL DEVICES
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to keypads for electrical devices and is particularly, but not exclusively, related to keypads for mobile or portable devices, such as mobile telephones.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In order for mobile telephones to be conveniently usable, they are of a relatively small size. Accordingly, the keypads of such devices are also small. This is particularly the case since, not only are smaller and smaller mobile telephones being manufactured, but it is becoming desirable to have larger and larger displays on such devices which means that there is less and less space available on which to provide a keypad.
For such small keypads, an important factor is the ease with which they may be used by a user. A keypad should enable a user to select keys rapidly, in a way that is natural and intuitive and without involving too much unnecessary finger movement.
Keypads for mobile telephones generally have a common, basic, configuration shown in Figure 1. Keys which are used in dialling numbers (and for other pur- poses) are typically provided in a 4 by 3 matrix having a first row of numerals "1", "2" and "3", a second row of numerals "4", "5" and "6", a third row of numerals "7", "8" and "9" and a fourth row having a first character/function key, numeral "0" and a second character/function key. Another arrangement of keys, which is usually located above this arrangement, is used to carry out other functions such as initi- ating and terminating telephone calls and navigating around the screen and various menus of a user interface of the mobile telephone. One disadvantage of this arrangement is that there is little natural spatial correspondence between the locations of the keys and the numerals which are selectable. For example, although key 6 is adjacent to one key 5 (as a row neighbour), it is also below key 3 and above key 9 (as two column-neighbours). Therefore, use of such a keypad needs to be learned by a user. For example, it is not unusual for a user to remember the input sequence of a telephone number or a code by remembering the pattern of finger movements which is used in inputting the telephone number or code.
To deal with this problem WO 98/24103 and WO 99/48120 propose alternative keypad arrangements for mobile telephones in which numeral keys are disposed in a generally oval configuration.
Another disadvantage of such a keypad is that if it is used in an orientation other than the one originally intended, it becomes more difficult for a user to select the correct keys. For example, if the keypad of Figure 1 is rotated clockwise through 90°, the keys then appear to a user to be in a 3 x 4 matrix and the spatial relationships between keys also appear to have changed. Key 6 now has two row- neighbours, keys 9 and 3 and one column-neighbour, key 5. This is confusing since a user cannot readily apply learned spatial relationships. In addition, any text associated with the keys will also have rotated and will be more difficult to read.
The keypad arrangements of WO98/24103 and WO 99/48120 are difficult to use if the mobile telephone is used in such an alternative orientation.
SUMMARY
According to the invention there is provided an electrical device having a body, a display, and a keypad in which the keypad is rotatable with respect to the body. In this way it is possible for the orientation of the display to be changed with respect to the body whilst the body is rotated about the keypad. This may be used to maintain a particular orientational relationship between the keypad and the display. This may be useful in allowing the mobile terminal to be used in different ori- entations.
Preferably the keypad has a plurality of individual numeral keys assigned to individual numerals. Preferably the keypad has a navigation key for navigating about the display. The numeral keys assigned to individual numerals may be disposed about the navigation key.
Preferably the display has a non-unity aspect ratio.
Preferably the numeral keys are disposed in a circular pattern about the naviga- tion key. All of the numeral keys may be disposed about the navigation key. In an embodiment in which the keypad is circular, it may be rotated particularly conveniently.
The keypad may be rotated by a user to optimise the electrical device for both horizontal and vertical viewing modes. It is particularly convenient in providing ready right- and left-handed useability. In this way it is possible for a user to change use of such a display from a portrait mode to a landscape mode whilst maintaining the orientation of the keypad.
Preferably the keypad is rotatabie by hand. Alternatively it is driven by an electrical motor.
Preferably the keypad is removeable. It may be "rotated" by being removed from the electrical device and then being replaced in a different configuration. Accord- ing to the invention both the orientation of the keys and the orientation of the display may be changed so that they maintain a correspondence. Preferably the navigation key may be used, among other things, to control movement of a cursor in the display or to move a selection highlighter through menus in the display. The term "navigation key" refers to any suitable manually operable input receiving means and includes such things as joysticks, rollers and the like.
Preferably the numeral keys are arranged in an annulus. The annulus may comprise a single integrated piece or it may be a plurality of separate pieces. In the latter case, a separate piece is assigned to each of the numeral keys. Separate pieces may be able to move relatively to each other, for example when there is a key-press for a particular key.
Preferably the annulus is rotatabie. The navigation key may also be rotatabie. Preferably the annulus and the navigation key are keyed together so that they ro- tate together.
Preferably the keypad comprises a keymat defining the plurality of keys and a corresponding plurality of pressure sensitive areas which detect key presses and produce corresponding electrical signals.
Preferably the electrical device is a wireless communications device. It may be a mobile terminal such as a mobile telephone.
In an embodiment in which the keys are circularly disposed in numerical order, their positions and their sequence have a logical correspondence. This can provide a convenient keypad in which location of the keys is straightforward.
Although reference is made to key-presses and pressing of keys, it is to be understood that an electrical device according to the invention may receive input by a means other than the pressing of keys. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 shows a prior art keypad.
Figure 2 shows a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 3 shows detail of the keypad of Figure 2.
Figure 4 shows the mobile terminal of Figure 2 in one orientation.
Figure 5 shows the mobile terminal of Figure 2 in another orientation. <
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Figure 2 shows an embodiment of a mobile terminal 50 according to the invention comprising a body 52, a display 54, a keypad 56, an on/off button 58, an ear- phone 60 and a microphone 62. The display 54 has a non-unity aspect ratio.
The keypad 56 comprises a keymat comprising a plurality of keys located above a pressure sensitive part. The pressure sensitive part has a plurality of pressure sensitive areas which detect key presses and produce corresponding electrical signals. An individual key comprises a part of the keymat and its corresponding pressure sensitive area on the pressure sensitive part.
Individual keys are dedicated to the operation of the terminal 50 and include keys to initiate and terminate calls, 64 and 66 respectively, an asterisk key 68 and a hash key 70. The keypad 56 comprises a set of numerical keys disposed in a circular arrangement around a centrally located navigation key 72.
In this embodiment, the numeral keys 1 to 9 and 0 are provided adjacent to one another in a circular arrangement such that neighbouring numeral keys are in nu- merical order. In this embodiment key 0 is located between keys 9 and 1. The asterisk key 68 and the hash key 70 are located outside the circular arrangement although in another embodiment, they could be located inside the circular arrangement or indeed as part of the circular arrangement. In this latter case, one preferred arrangement is for the sequence of keys to be arranged in locations corresponding to a clock face in which keys 1 to 9 have locations corresponding to clock face numerals 1 to 9, key 0 has a location corresponding to clock face numeral 10, the asterisk key has a location corresponding to clock face numeral 11 and the hash key has a location corresponding to clock face numeral 12. In another embodiment, the numeral keys are not disposed about a navigation key.
The numeral keys are disposed in the form of an annulus surrounding the navigation key 72. The annulus is segmented into separate pieces each of which can be individually pressed without necessarily causing pressing of any other part of the annulus.
The keys are not only used for numerical input but they are also used to input alphabetical and other characters. For example, the key 2 typically has an alphabet of characters 2, a, b and c. Although other characters may be selectable, for example equivalents of these characters for various languages, only these four characters will be considered for the sake of simplicity. In normal telephone mode of the mobile terminal 50, pressing key 2 selects numeral 2. In other modes, for example in writing short message service (SMS) messages, letter a is selected by a single key-press of this key, letter b is selected by a double keypress of this key, letter c is selected by a triple key-press of this key and so on. Other letters of the alphabet are present on others of the keys. The key 1 also has a set of punctua- tion marks assigned to it. The alphabetical characters and punctuation marks, as well as the numerical characters, can be used in the writing of text, for example, SMS messages.
The keymat of the keypad 56 is configured to rotate with respect to the body 52. The mobile terminal 50 comprises angular orientation measurement means which can measure the angular orientation of the keymat with respect to the body and change the mapping of the keymat to the corresponding pressure sensitive areas so that pressing a particular key produces an electrical signal, which is understood by the mobile terminal 50 as being associated with that key. An advantage of this is that the angular orientation in which the mobile terminal is used can be changed. Thus, the mobile terminal can be turned on its side whilst still presenting its display 54 to a user and the orientation of the display 54 with respect to the body 52 can be changed to that it is in a different orientation, for example in a landscape orientation rather than in a portrait orientation. It may be convenient to connect the display to the angular orientation measurement means so that an an- gular change of the orientation of the keymat of the keypad 56 additionally causes an angular change in the presentation of an image on the display 54. For example, the keymat of the keypad 56 and the image being displayed could both be rotated by 90°. This could be useful if the display is being used to display an image which is not suitable to the aspect ratio of the display.
The mobile terminal 50 is provided with locking means which locks the keymat and the body 52 into a particular orientation. The locking means may lock the keymat and the body 52 so that no relative movement is permitted between them or so that relative movement is only permitted when a sufficiently high rotational force is applied to the keymat.
Allowing the user to rotate the keymat for horizontal or vertical display presentation or for right- or left-handed use provides improved useability of the mobile terminal 50. Furthermore, an interchangeable keymat allows the user to configure the hardware interface of the mobile terminal 50 in a way which is convenient and suitable to their needs and preferences. The keymat 56 and the body 52 may have complementary decorative patterns so that the patterns match when a key and a pressure sensitive area are in registration. Alternatively, the patterns may be such that there are different degrees of matching between the keymat and the body 52 at different angular orientations at which the keys are in registration with the pressure sensitive areas. If interchangeable keymats are used, this may provided a suitable way to "rotate" the keymat. The keymat may be removed from the mobile terminal 50 and then be replaced in an alternative configuration. Of course, the mapping between the keys of the keymat and their corresponding pressure sensitive areas would also be changed so that pressing a particular key produces an appropriate electrical signal. Additionally, the orientation of the display 54 may be correspondingly changed so that the keymat and the display 54 are in matching orientations.
The navigation key 72 can be either self-orientating like the display or it can be part of the keymat that is removed and replaced. If it is self-orientating, it remains in place when the keymat is removed and the mapping between arrow functions of the navigation key and corresponding pressure sensitive areas are changed.
In another embodiment the annulus is a single integral piece having zones disposed at different angular positions assigned to different numerals. Pressing different zones causes different numerals to be selected and entered into the display.
Figure 3 shows detail of the keypad 56 of Figure 2. It shows in side view a keymat 80 and a pressure sensitive part 82 located beneath it. The keypad 80 and the navigation key 72 are keyed together against relative rotational movement. For example, they may comprise an integral piece. Both the keymat 80 and the pressure sensitive part 82 have cooperating contact points 84. The body 52 is shown as a fragmentary part. The keymat 80 is connected via an axle 86 to an electric motor 88. The electrical motor 88 is able to drive the keymat relatively to the pressure sensitive part 82 and the body 52.
The pressure sensitive part 82 and the electrical motor 88 are both connected to, and controlled by, a controller 90 which ensures that, as the keymat 80 is rotated by the electrical motor 88, the mapping of corresponding contact points 84 is changed accordingly so that pressing a particular numeral key of the keymat still produces the appropriate electrical signal so that the mobile terminal 50 correctly recognises the keypress.
The effect of rotating the keypad 56 is shown in Figures 4 and 5. The keypad 56 has been rotated 90° clockwise and the orientation of an image presented on the display 54 has been changed correspondingly. Therefore, in relation to Figure 5, a user now uses the mobile terminal 50 (and its user interface) in an orientation in which it extends mostly in a horizontal direction. The two numerals, 0 and 5, shown on the keypad 56 are simply to illustrate its orientation relative to the mobile terminal 50.
In all of the preceding embodiments of the inventions, other arrangements of keys may be used. For example, the keys may be arranged alphabetically according to the alphabetical letters assigned to the keys. In such an alphabetical layout, there may be more than ten keys assigned to alphabetical letters arranged in a circle. The keys may be arranged in a so-called QWERTY layout in which each individual letter is assigned to a corresponding individual key or pluralities of letter are assigned to corresponding individuals keys like in Figure 1 but the sequence of let- ters follows the QWERTY sequence rather than being alphabetical.
Although the foregoing description relates to a mobile terminal such as a mobile telephone, it should be understood that the invention can be applied to other devices such as computers, personal digital assistants and entry terminals for input- ting data or access codes, for example to gain access to a building or to another secure location, for example a bank account.
Particular implementations and embodiments of the invention have been described. It is clear to a person skilled in the art that the invention is not restricted to details of the embodiments presented above, but that it can be implemented in other embodiments using equivalent means without deviating from the character- istics of the invention. The scope of the invention is only restricted by the attached patent claims.

Claims

1. An electrical (50) having a body (52), a display (54) and a keypad (56) in which the keypad is rotatabie with respect to the body.
2. An electrical (50) according to claim 1 in which the (56) has a plurality of individual numeral keys.
3. An electrical device (50) according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the keypad has a navigation key (72) for navigating about the display.
4. An electrical device (50) according to claim 3 in which the numeral keys are disposed about the navigation key (72).
5. An electrical device (50) of claim 3 or claim 4 in which the plurality of individual numeral keys are disposed in a circular pattern about the navigation key (72).
6. An electrical device (50) according to any preceding claim in which the keypad (56) is rotatabie by hand.
7. An electrical device (50) of any preceding claims in which rotation of the keypad (56) is driven by an electrical motor.
8. An electrical device (50) of any of claims 3 to 7 in which the plurality of individual numeral keys and the navigation key (72) are keyed together so that are ro- tatable together.
9. An electrical device (50) of any preceding claims in which the keypad (56) comprises a keymat defining the plurality of individual numeral keys and a corresponding plurality of pressure sensitive areas which detect key presses and pro- duce corresponding electrical signals.
10. An electrical device (50) according to any preceding claims which comprises a mobile telephone.
PCT/FI2001/000895 2000-10-31 2001-10-16 Electrical device with a rotatable keypad Ceased WO2002037806A2 (en)

Priority Applications (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP01980556A EP1334604B1 (en) 2000-10-31 2001-10-16 Keypads for electrical devices
DE60123267T DE60123267T2 (en) 2000-10-31 2001-10-16 KEYPADS FOR ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT
AU2002212370A AU2002212370A1 (en) 2000-10-31 2001-10-16 Electrical device with a rotatable keypad

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US09/703,021 US6593914B1 (en) 2000-10-31 2000-10-31 Keypads for electrical devices
US09/703,021 2000-10-31

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2002037806A2 true WO2002037806A2 (en) 2002-05-10
WO2002037806A3 WO2002037806A3 (en) 2002-07-11

Family

ID=24823624

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/FI2001/000895 Ceased WO2002037806A2 (en) 2000-10-31 2001-10-16 Electrical device with a rotatable keypad

Country Status (7)

Country Link
US (3) US6593914B1 (en)
EP (1) EP1334604B1 (en)
CN (1) CN1977521A (en)
AT (1) ATE340474T1 (en)
AU (1) AU2002212370A1 (en)
DE (1) DE60123267T2 (en)
WO (1) WO2002037806A2 (en)

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1367804A1 (en) * 2002-05-29 2003-12-03 Lg Electronics Inc. Rotary-keypad for a mobile handset
KR100678963B1 (en) 2005-12-28 2007-02-06 삼성전자주식회사 Portable device having a rotatable input button and its operation method
KR100752141B1 (en) 2006-01-04 2007-08-24 주식회사 팬택 Rotary navigation button device
EP1489637A3 (en) * 2003-05-29 2007-12-12 Nokia Corporation A portable communication apparatus, a rotary input device having an end-user-exchangeable element, and an end-user-exchangeable element for a rotary input device
KR100787677B1 (en) 2006-09-19 2007-12-21 주식회사 대우일렉트로닉스 Button position changer of TV
CN103955284A (en) * 2013-09-26 2014-07-30 胡华 Steering wheel type character keyboard and character input method

Families Citing this family (190)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6851877B1 (en) * 1999-08-18 2005-02-08 Thomson Licensing, S.A. Keyboard layout and method for data entry
US20020013763A1 (en) * 1999-12-08 2002-01-31 Harris Scott C. Real time auction with end game
US6593914B1 (en) * 2000-10-31 2003-07-15 Nokia Mobile Phones Ltd. Keypads for electrical devices
US20020093535A1 (en) * 2001-01-17 2002-07-18 Murphy Michael William User interface for character entry using a minimum number of selection keys
US7162282B2 (en) * 2001-01-22 2007-01-09 Wildseed, Ltd. Interchangeable covering additions to a mobile communication device for display and key reorientation
JP4476503B2 (en) * 2001-02-07 2010-06-09 株式会社半導体エネルギー研究所 Portable electronic device
US20020149566A1 (en) * 2001-04-16 2002-10-17 Sarkissian Arthur H. Key-surround module inputting device
US7692667B2 (en) * 2001-08-17 2010-04-06 Palm, Inc. Handheld computer having moveable segments that are interactive with an integrated display
US6925315B2 (en) * 2001-10-30 2005-08-02 Fred Langford Telephone handset with thumb-operated tactile keypad
JP3927022B2 (en) * 2001-12-04 2007-06-06 株式会社ソニー・コンピュータエンタテインメント REMOTE OPERATION DEVICE, REMOTE OPERATION SYSTEM, IMAGE DISPLAY METHOD, IMAGE DISPLAY PROGRAM FOR EXECUTE ON COMPUTER, COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM CONTAINING IMAGE DISPLAY PROGRAM FOR EXECUTE ON COMPUTER
US20030197736A1 (en) * 2002-01-16 2003-10-23 Murphy Michael W. User interface for character entry using a minimum number of selection keys
US20030179182A1 (en) * 2002-02-21 2003-09-25 Lieu Winston Hong Article comprising an adaptable input devce
USD610126S1 (en) * 2002-07-01 2010-02-16 Apple Inc. Media player
US7751650B2 (en) * 2002-03-05 2010-07-06 Sony Corporation Image processing device image processing program and image processing method
US20030222889A1 (en) * 2002-03-26 2003-12-04 Kenneth Parulski Portable imaging display device employing an aspect ratio dependent user interface control window
US20030201987A1 (en) * 2002-04-25 2003-10-30 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Device and method for adjusting inverted image in display system
USD490405S1 (en) 2002-05-20 2004-05-25 Nokia Corporation Keymat for a handset
US8001488B1 (en) * 2002-05-31 2011-08-16 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. User interface dial with display
KR100608735B1 (en) * 2002-07-09 2006-08-04 엘지전자 주식회사 Screen display method of mobile communication terminal
US7956272B2 (en) * 2002-07-30 2011-06-07 Apple Inc. Management of files in a personal communication device
US7166791B2 (en) 2002-07-30 2007-01-23 Apple Computer, Inc. Graphical user interface and methods of use thereof in a multimedia player
US7184718B2 (en) * 2002-07-30 2007-02-27 Nokia Corporation Transformable mobile station
CA102322S (en) * 2002-09-06 2005-06-06 Nokia Corp Handset
CA102650S (en) 2002-10-02 2004-03-22 Siemens Ag Mobile phone
USD487263S1 (en) 2002-10-10 2004-03-02 Quanta Computer, Inc. Keypad
USD487082S1 (en) 2002-10-10 2004-02-24 Quanta Computer, Inc. Keypad
US6943777B2 (en) * 2002-10-10 2005-09-13 Motorola, Inc. Electronic device with user interface capability and method therefor
USD487454S1 (en) 2002-10-10 2004-03-09 Quanta Computer Inc. Keypad
USD493449S1 (en) 2002-10-10 2004-07-27 Quanta Computer, Inc. Keypad
US7426329B2 (en) 2003-03-06 2008-09-16 Microsoft Corporation Systems and methods for receiving, storing, and rendering digital video, music, and pictures on a personal media player
US20040201595A1 (en) * 2003-04-11 2004-10-14 Microsoft Corporation Self-orienting display
US7856251B2 (en) * 2003-04-24 2010-12-21 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Device and method for using a rotating key and controlling a display in a mobile terminal
US20040253989A1 (en) * 2003-06-12 2004-12-16 Tupler Amy M. Radio communication device having a navigational wheel
USD496926S1 (en) 2003-08-01 2004-10-05 Nokia Corporation Key button area for a handset
US7379762B2 (en) * 2003-09-04 2008-05-27 Creative Technology Ltd. Portable digital device orientation
US7283852B2 (en) * 2003-09-10 2007-10-16 Nokia Corporation Movable functional elements for mobile communication device
US7184802B2 (en) * 2003-09-29 2007-02-27 Siemens Communications, Inc. Mobile communication device having rotating keypad assembly
TWI222092B (en) * 2003-10-07 2004-10-11 Benq Corp Electronic device
EP1524592A3 (en) * 2003-10-17 2011-06-29 VTech Electronics Limited Multi-function user input device adaptable for use by both left and right handed users
US7181251B2 (en) * 2003-10-22 2007-02-20 Nokia Corporation Mobile communication terminal with multi orientation user interface
EP1678654A4 (en) 2003-10-31 2008-07-02 Iota Wireless Llc Concurrent data entry for a portable device
US20080129552A1 (en) * 2003-10-31 2008-06-05 Iota Wireless Llc Concurrent data entry for a portable device
TWM244566U (en) 2003-11-10 2004-09-21 High Tech Comp Corp Keyboard module
US20050124387A1 (en) * 2003-12-09 2005-06-09 Ribeiro Claudio S. Portable apparatus user interface
GB2409664A (en) * 2003-12-29 2005-07-06 Nokia Corp A key arrangement
US7185818B2 (en) * 2003-12-29 2007-03-06 Symbol Technologies, Inc. Rotatable/removeable keyboard
US20100134964A1 (en) * 2004-03-08 2010-06-03 Originatic Llc Electronic Device
US8934226B2 (en) * 2004-03-08 2015-01-13 Originatic Llc Mountable device having a pivotable input device support
DE102004013415B4 (en) * 2004-03-18 2011-12-08 Disetronic Licensing Ag Rotatable display of a medical, pharmaceutical or cosmetic device
EP1580650A1 (en) * 2004-03-26 2005-09-28 High Tech Computer Corp. Keyboard module
US7417625B2 (en) * 2004-04-29 2008-08-26 Scenera Technologies, Llc Method and system for providing input mechanisms on a handheld electronic device
GB0410992D0 (en) * 2004-05-18 2004-06-16 Hesco Bastion Ltd Hand held electronic devices
US7264170B2 (en) * 2004-06-15 2007-09-04 Inventec Appliances Corporation Input device and electronic device using the same
USD516576S1 (en) 2004-06-24 2006-03-07 Apple Computer, Inc. Media device
WO2006023259A2 (en) * 2004-08-16 2006-03-02 Maw Wai-Lin Virtual keypad input device
US7671845B2 (en) * 2004-11-30 2010-03-02 Microsoft Corporation Directional input device and display orientation control
US7652589B2 (en) * 2005-02-04 2010-01-26 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Selecting a function of components based on orientation
GB2440683B (en) * 2005-02-23 2010-12-08 Zienon L L C Method and apparatus for data entry input
US9760214B2 (en) 2005-02-23 2017-09-12 Zienon, Llc Method and apparatus for data entry input
US7279647B2 (en) * 2005-06-17 2007-10-09 Harald Philipp Control panel
KR100678196B1 (en) * 2005-08-18 2007-02-02 삼성전자주식회사 Key arrangement and input method
US20070142101A1 (en) * 2005-08-23 2007-06-21 Sudhir Seshagiri Mobile electronic device having a rotatable keypad
USD548744S1 (en) 2005-08-24 2007-08-14 Apple, Inc. Media device
USD541298S1 (en) * 2005-08-24 2007-04-24 Apple Computer, Inc. Media device
USD549237S1 (en) * 2005-08-24 2007-08-21 Apple Inc. Media device
USD548745S1 (en) 2005-08-24 2007-08-14 Apple Inc. Media device
USD553129S1 (en) 2005-08-24 2007-10-16 Apple Inc. Handheld portable computing device
US8459885B2 (en) * 2005-10-15 2013-06-11 Byung Kon Min Clock face keyboard
US20070086825A1 (en) * 2005-10-15 2007-04-19 Min Byung K Circular keyboard
US8493325B2 (en) * 2005-10-21 2013-07-23 Stephine Mak Pui See Reconfigurable user input device for both left and right handed users
KR100648473B1 (en) * 2005-11-24 2006-11-27 삼성전자주식회사 Character input method on mobile terminal
KR100724956B1 (en) * 2005-12-13 2007-06-04 삼성전자주식회사 Background display method of mobile communication terminal
US7860536B2 (en) * 2006-01-05 2010-12-28 Apple Inc. Telephone interface for a portable communication device
GB2434564B (en) * 2006-01-24 2008-05-14 Motorola Inc Modular Keypad Mechanism
US20070186159A1 (en) * 2006-02-08 2007-08-09 Denso International America, Inc. Universal text input method for different languages
WO2007096688A1 (en) * 2006-02-23 2007-08-30 Alon Lotan A display and actuator device
US9152241B2 (en) * 2006-04-28 2015-10-06 Zienon, Llc Method and apparatus for efficient data input
KR101176943B1 (en) * 2006-05-09 2012-08-30 삼성전자주식회사 A function key assembly for fortable device
USD592226S1 (en) * 2006-06-30 2009-05-12 Creative Technology Ltd Audio processor
USD579461S1 (en) * 2006-06-30 2008-10-28 Creative Technology Ltd Audio processor
US7327350B1 (en) * 2006-07-17 2008-02-05 Ryan Patrick Radecki Input device for control of computer software designed to assist persons of reduced visual acuity
USD588610S1 (en) * 2006-09-01 2009-03-17 Apple Inc. Media device
USD560228S1 (en) 2006-09-01 2008-01-22 Apple Inc. Media device
US8797267B2 (en) * 2006-09-12 2014-08-05 Virgin Mobile Usa, L.P. Virtual hard keys on a wireless device
USD581429S1 (en) * 2006-11-07 2008-11-25 Gilmore Monty R Hand held device capable of communicating audio and video data
USD574373S1 (en) * 2006-12-07 2008-08-05 Unitel High Technology Corporation Keypad
USD563372S1 (en) * 2007-04-18 2008-03-04 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Cellular phone
USD574850S1 (en) * 2007-05-04 2008-08-12 Bloomberg Finance L.P. Electronic device
USD567819S1 (en) * 2007-05-09 2008-04-29 Devericks James K Handheld multimedia device
CN101315844B (en) * 2007-06-01 2010-12-29 深圳富泰宏精密工业有限公司 Press key device and portable electronic device equipped with the same
US7969414B2 (en) * 2007-06-08 2011-06-28 Inventec Corporation Mobile communication apparatus
CN101349950B (en) * 2007-07-20 2015-06-03 鸿富锦精密工业（深圳）有限公司 Electronic device and input parts thereof
USD568339S1 (en) * 2007-08-07 2008-05-06 Sdi Technologies, Inc. Remote wireless music player transmitter
KR101442542B1 (en) * 2007-08-28 2014-09-19 엘지전자 주식회사 Input device and portable terminal having the same
USD606966S1 (en) * 2007-09-05 2009-12-29 Apple Inc. Electronic device
USD598424S1 (en) * 2007-08-31 2009-08-18 Apple Inc. Electronic device
USD655720S1 (en) 2007-08-31 2012-03-13 Apple Inc. Electronic device
USD607869S1 (en) * 2007-09-05 2010-01-12 Apple Inc. Electronic device
USD606965S1 (en) * 2007-09-04 2009-12-29 Apple Inc. Electronic device
USD598425S1 (en) 2007-08-31 2009-08-18 Apple Inc. Electronic device
USD597556S1 (en) * 2007-08-31 2009-08-04 Apple Inc. Electronic device
USD597521S1 (en) * 2007-08-31 2009-08-04 Apple Inc. Electronic device
USD606964S1 (en) * 2007-09-04 2009-12-29 Apple Inc. Electronic device
USD614162S1 (en) * 2007-09-04 2010-04-20 Apple Inc. Electronic device
USD615554S1 (en) * 2007-09-04 2010-05-11 Apple Inc. Electronic device
USD614161S1 (en) * 2007-09-04 2010-04-20 Apple Inc. Electronic device
USD614163S1 (en) * 2007-09-05 2010-04-20 Apple Inc. Electronic device
USD608763S1 (en) * 2007-09-05 2010-01-26 Apple Inc. Electronic device
USD614165S1 (en) * 2007-09-05 2010-04-20 Apple Inc. Electronic device
USD606967S1 (en) * 2007-09-05 2009-12-29 Apple Inc. Electronic device
USD614164S1 (en) * 2007-09-05 2010-04-20 Apple Inc. Electronic device
USD572268S1 (en) * 2007-09-07 2008-07-01 Sandisk Corporation Media player
USD570872S1 (en) * 2007-09-07 2008-06-10 Sandisk Corporation Media player
USD570871S1 (en) * 2007-09-07 2008-06-10 Sandisk Corporation Media player
USD570873S1 (en) * 2007-09-07 2008-06-10 Sandisk Corporation Media player
USD570874S1 (en) * 2007-09-07 2008-06-10 Sandisk Corporation Media player
US20090066506A1 (en) * 2007-09-07 2009-03-12 Niizawa Derek T Electronic device with circuitry operative to change an orientation of an indicator and method for use therewith
USD578138S1 (en) * 2007-12-11 2008-10-07 Sandisk Corporation Media player
USD578140S1 (en) * 2007-12-11 2008-10-07 Sandisk Corporation Media player
USD570875S1 (en) * 2007-12-11 2008-06-10 Sandisk Corporation Media player
USD594029S1 (en) 2007-12-11 2009-06-09 Augen Electronics Corp. Portable audio player
US20090144943A1 (en) * 2007-12-11 2009-06-11 Manuel Arranz Del Rosal Interchangeable electronic device clip
USD578139S1 (en) * 2007-12-11 2008-10-07 Sandisk Corporation Media player
USD576637S1 (en) * 2007-12-11 2008-09-09 Augen Electronics Corp. Portable audio player
USD578137S1 (en) * 2007-12-11 2008-10-07 Sandisk Corporation Media player
USD578141S1 (en) * 2007-12-11 2008-10-07 Sandisk Corporation Media player
USD579954S1 (en) * 2007-12-11 2008-11-04 Augen Electronics Corp. Portable audio player
US9477321B2 (en) * 2007-12-28 2016-10-25 Blackberry Limited Embedded navigation assembly and method on handheld device
USD578546S1 (en) * 2008-01-30 2008-10-14 Aerielle Technologies, Inc Audio and image digital file streaming and transfer device
WO2009100018A2 (en) * 2008-02-01 2009-08-13 Spy Rock, Llc Ergonomic user interface for hand held devices
USD584740S1 (en) 2008-03-07 2009-01-13 Sandisk Corporation Media player
USD584743S1 (en) 2008-03-07 2009-01-13 Sandisk Corporation Media player
USD593535S1 (en) 2008-03-07 2009-06-02 Sandisk Corporation Media player
USD584741S1 (en) 2008-03-07 2009-01-13 Sandisk Corporation Media player
USD584742S1 (en) 2008-03-07 2009-01-13 Sandisk Corporation Media player
US20090289917A1 (en) * 2008-03-20 2009-11-26 Saunders Samuel F Dynamic visual feature coordination in an electronic hand held device
KR101111566B1 (en) 2008-05-23 2012-02-24 삼성전자주식회사 Converting Method And Device For Interface of Portable Device
USD594874S1 (en) 2008-06-06 2009-06-23 Sandisk Corporation Media player
US8180410B2 (en) * 2008-06-06 2012-05-15 Sandisk Technologies Inc. Housing and clip assembly for portable electronics device
USD594875S1 (en) 2008-06-06 2009-06-23 Sandisk Corporation Media player
USD625286S1 (en) * 2008-06-13 2010-10-12 Sony Corporation Audio player
TW201009866A (en) * 2008-08-27 2010-03-01 Pegatron Corp Portable electronic apparatus and key assembly thereof
JP2010062684A (en) * 2008-09-01 2010-03-18 Smk Corp Stationary remote control transmitter
US7920372B2 (en) 2008-09-22 2011-04-05 Nokia Corporation Electronic handheld device with user interface
US8462133B2 (en) * 2008-09-29 2013-06-11 Apple Inc. Clickable and tactile buttons for a touch surface
USD593132S1 (en) * 2008-10-29 2009-05-26 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. MP3 player
AU326312S (en) * 2008-11-18 2009-06-10 Koninl Philips Electronics Nv Digital audio player
AU326308S (en) * 2008-11-18 2009-06-10 Koninl Philips Electronics Nv Digital audio player
USD616427S1 (en) * 2009-03-19 2010-05-25 Fih (Hong Kong) Limited Keypad
USD662911S1 (en) * 2009-04-20 2012-07-03 Sony Corporation Digital media player
USD714254S1 (en) * 2009-04-20 2014-09-30 Sony Corporation Media player
GB2470654B (en) 2009-05-26 2015-05-20 Zienon L L C Method and apparatus for data entry input
USD605165S1 (en) 2009-05-28 2009-12-01 Sandisk Corporation Media player
USD605167S1 (en) 2009-05-28 2009-12-01 Sandisk Corporation Media player
USD607874S1 (en) 2009-05-28 2010-01-12 Sandisk Corporation Media player
USD605166S1 (en) 2009-05-28 2009-12-01 Sandisk Corporation Media player
CN101958949A (en) * 2009-07-20 2011-01-26 索尼爱立信移动通讯有限公司 User input assembly of electronic device
USD612362S1 (en) * 2009-10-16 2010-03-23 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. MP3 player
KR101768540B1 (en) 2009-10-30 2017-08-18 삼성전자주식회사 Mobile device and method for providing UI
CA135502S (en) * 2009-11-25 2011-01-04 Philips Electronics Ltd Digital audio player
USD618663S1 (en) * 2009-12-18 2010-06-29 Coby Electronics Corporation Portable media player
USD618661S1 (en) * 2009-12-18 2010-06-29 Coby Electronics Corporation Portable media player
USD620473S1 (en) * 2009-12-18 2010-07-27 Coby Electronics Corporation Portable media player
USD618662S1 (en) * 2009-12-18 2010-06-29 Coby Electronics Corporation Portable media player
USD620919S1 (en) * 2009-12-18 2010-08-03 Coby Electronics Corporation Portable media player
USD654925S1 (en) * 2009-12-25 2012-02-28 Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Display panel or screen with computer generated animated image
USD627332S1 (en) * 2010-04-08 2010-11-16 Creative Technology Ltd Media player
USD643401S1 (en) * 2010-04-16 2011-08-16 Shenzhen Fujiatai Technology Co., Ltd. Network multimedia player
USD627758S1 (en) 2010-04-20 2010-11-23 Sandisk Corporation Media player
USD647104S1 (en) * 2010-04-23 2011-10-18 Research In Motion Limited Display screen with an icon
USD626937S1 (en) * 2010-06-10 2010-11-09 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. MP3 player
USD626936S1 (en) * 2010-06-10 2010-11-09 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. MP3 player
USD662488S1 (en) * 2011-05-04 2012-06-26 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. MP3 player
USD656122S1 (en) * 2011-06-10 2012-03-20 Sandisk Technologies Inc. Media player
USD659115S1 (en) * 2011-08-18 2012-05-08 Van Der Werff Bert J Media player
US9184791B2 (en) 2012-03-15 2015-11-10 Blackberry Limited Selective adaptive audio cancellation algorithm configuration
USD717271S1 (en) * 2012-11-05 2014-11-11 Gürsan Acar Portable media player
US11422695B2 (en) * 2013-03-27 2022-08-23 Texas Instruments Incorporated Radial based user interface on touch sensitive screen
US9083782B2 (en) 2013-05-08 2015-07-14 Blackberry Limited Dual beamform audio echo reduction
US9628690B2 (en) * 2014-10-21 2017-04-18 Gopro, Inc. Camera controller with context-sensitive interface
USD787553S1 (en) * 2014-11-20 2017-05-23 General Electric Company Display screen or portion thereof with icon
USD749640S1 (en) * 2015-01-05 2016-02-16 Shenzhen Questyle Audio Technology Co., Ltd Music player
USD780223S1 (en) * 2015-05-08 2017-02-28 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Electronic device
USD765734S1 (en) * 2015-06-26 2016-09-06 Hifiman Electronics Corporation Media player
CN106098452B (en) * 2016-07-14 2018-05-22 迪芬尼香港有限公司 Novel composite knob structure
JP1580282S (en) * 2016-11-24 2017-07-03
CN106843573A (en) * 2017-01-03 2017-06-13 惠州Tcl移动通信有限公司 The mobile terminal and its function of side key implementation method of a kind of side switch virtualization
AU201714646S (en) * 2017-08-07 2017-09-13 Arb Corp Ltd A smartphone
USD877630S1 (en) * 2018-03-20 2020-03-10 Detroit Watch Company Watch
US11927989B2 (en) * 2020-08-11 2024-03-12 Google Llc Computing device with rotatable keyboard

Family Cites Families (19)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE3600835A1 (en) 1986-01-14 1989-01-05 Porsche Design Gmbh TELEPHONE APPARATUS
US5416498A (en) * 1986-10-21 1995-05-16 Ergonomics, Inc. Prehensile positioning computer keyboard
NL8602886A (en) 1986-11-13 1988-06-01 Alcatel Nederland TELEPHONE.
GB2240071B (en) * 1990-01-23 1994-05-11 Wu Louis Tsung Cheng A novel arrangement of numeral keys of signal input keyboard
JPH0696639A (en) * 1992-09-14 1994-04-08 Smk Corp Membrane switch with jog function
US5661632A (en) * 1994-01-04 1997-08-26 Dell Usa, L.P. Hand held computer with dual display screen orientation capability controlled by toggle switches having first and second non-momentary positions
JPH09101856A (en) * 1995-06-06 1997-04-15 Yasushi Shimada Input device
SE510596C2 (en) * 1996-11-27 1999-06-07 Nassko Telecom Ab COUPLING
JP2957507B2 (en) * 1997-02-24 1999-10-04 インターナショナル・ビジネス・マシーンズ・コーポレイション Small information processing equipment
US5901223A (en) 1997-04-02 1999-05-04 Sony Corporation Wireless telephone with extension having peripheral devices provided thereon
JPH11184611A (en) * 1997-12-18 1999-07-09 Mitsubishi Electric Corp How to display character input using cursor keys
GB2332880A (en) * 1997-12-30 1999-07-07 Tseng Hong Li Keypad with numeral keys arranged in a clock face arrangement
US6067358A (en) 1998-03-25 2000-05-23 Grant; Alan H. Ergonomic cellular phone
DE19849888A1 (en) 1998-10-29 2000-05-04 Bosch Gmbh Robert Communication device
US20030006956A1 (en) * 1999-05-24 2003-01-09 Charles Yimin Wu Data entry device recording input in two dimensions
US6538636B1 (en) * 1999-07-06 2003-03-25 Intel Corporation Apparatus and method for configuring a hand-held interactive device
US6597384B1 (en) * 1999-12-22 2003-07-22 Intel Corporation Automatic reorienting of screen orientation using touch sensitive system
US6373501B1 (en) * 2000-03-15 2002-04-16 Richard A. Fiero Portable device comprising keypad and screen
US6593914B1 (en) * 2000-10-31 2003-07-15 Nokia Mobile Phones Ltd. Keypads for electrical devices

Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1367804A1 (en) * 2002-05-29 2003-12-03 Lg Electronics Inc. Rotary-keypad for a mobile handset
US7064745B2 (en) 2002-05-29 2006-06-20 Lg Electronics Inc. Rotary-keypad for a mobile handset
EP1489637A3 (en) * 2003-05-29 2007-12-12 Nokia Corporation A portable communication apparatus, a rotary input device having an end-user-exchangeable element, and an end-user-exchangeable element for a rotary input device
KR100678963B1 (en) 2005-12-28 2007-02-06 삼성전자주식회사 Portable device having a rotatable input button and its operation method
KR100752141B1 (en) 2006-01-04 2007-08-24 주식회사 팬택 Rotary navigation button device
KR100787677B1 (en) 2006-09-19 2007-12-21 주식회사 대우일렉트로닉스 Button position changer of TV
CN103955284A (en) * 2013-09-26 2014-07-30 胡华 Steering wheel type character keyboard and character input method

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP1334604B1 (en) 2006-09-20
WO2002037806A3 (en) 2002-07-11
EP1334604A2 (en) 2003-08-13
US6593914B1 (en) 2003-07-15
AU2002212370A1 (en) 2002-05-15
US20030193480A1 (en) 2003-10-16
CN1977521A (en) 2007-06-06
US6756969B2 (en) 2004-06-29
DE60123267D1 (en) 2006-11-02
DE60123267T2 (en) 2007-09-20
ATE340474T1 (en) 2006-10-15
US20040212597A1 (en) 2004-10-28

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
EP1334604B1 (en) Keypads for electrical devices
CN100478850C (en) Electronic device and control element
US20050091431A1 (en) Portable communication devices
US6810271B1 (en) Keypads for electrical devices
US20050125570A1 (en) Portable communication devices
US6683599B2 (en) Keypads style input device for electrical device
US20050124387A1 (en) Portable apparatus user interface
JP2001236859A (en) Rotary switch
JP2003150303A (en) Two-stage selection type character input device
JP3964154B2 (en) Input device for portable terminal
EP1818775A1 (en) Lockable keyboard for a wireless handheld communication device
WO1999055060A1 (en) Input device and method of entering data into an electronic apparatus
JPWO2003107632A1 (en) Electronics
EP1854270B1 (en) Improved mobile communication terminal
JP2009032173A (en) Character input device and communication terminal device using the same
JP3048043B2 (en) Pencil type mobile phone terminal
US20070200736A1 (en) Hand-held device with character input rotary wheel
US20070008292A1 (en) Mobile device with rotatable keyboard
CN101349950B (en) Electronic device and input parts thereof
US20070165011A1 (en) Hand-held device with character input rotary wheel
JP2001356872A (en) Device for inputting key and method for the same
WO2001067720A2 (en) Multifunctional keypad
KR100715787B1 (en) Mobile terminal for switching text input mode by rotation
KR100739170B1 (en) Mobile communication terminal having input data conversion unit
KR100409278B1 (en) Character input method

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AK Designated states

Kind code of ref document: A3

Designated state(s): AE AG AL AM AT AT AU AZ BA BB BG BR BY BZ CA CH CN CO CR CU CZ CZ DE DE DK DK DM DZ EC EE EE ES FI FI GB GD GE GH GM HR HU ID IL IN IS JP KE KG KP KR KZ LC LK LR LS LT LU LV MA MD MG MK MN MW MX MZ NO NZ PH PL PT RO RU SD SE SG SI SK SK SL TJ TM TR TT TZ UA UG UZ VN YU ZA ZW

AL Designated countries for regional patents

Kind code of ref document: A3

Designated state(s): GH GM KE LS MW MZ SD SL SZ TZ UG ZW AM AZ BY KG KZ MD RU TJ TM AT BE CH CY DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE IT LU MC NL PT SE TR BF BJ CF CG CI CM GA GN GQ GW ML MR NE SN TD TG

DFPE Request for preliminary examination filed prior to expiration of 19th month from priority date (pct application filed before 20040101)
121 Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application
WWE Wipo information: entry into national phase

Ref document number: 2001980556

Country of ref document: EP

WWE Wipo information: entry into national phase

Ref document number: 018215882

Country of ref document: CN

WWP Wipo information: published in national office

Ref document number: 2001980556

Country of ref document: EP

REG Reference to national code

Ref country code: DE

Ref legal event code: 8642

NENP Non-entry into the national phase

Ref country code: JP

WWG Wipo information: grant in national office

Ref document number: 2001980556

Country of ref document: EP