Patent Application
20120257332
The present application relates generally to extended user input. The present application relates particularly, though not exclusively, to providing of natural and intuitive gaming input controls on retractable portable devices.
Various portable electronic devices have user interfaces to enable interaction with a user. The user interface of portable devices is often a compromise between mutually conflicting design objectives related to cost, complexity, accessibility, intuitiveness and compactness. Mobile phones typically sport a display and one or more keys on a common side so as to enable displaying of information and input of data from the user. The display may be a touch display in which case fewer keys are needed.
Some mobile phones have a clam-shell form factor in which the phone when opened reveals on its two internal walls a display and keypad, respectively. Another form factor is a monoblock model in which there is a display and some keys which occupy most of one side of the phone. There are also slide phones with a user interface that is extended by sliding apart a display part and a keypad part.
Game controllers of different game stations are specifically designed for comfortable grip and access to controls. Such controllers typically have an arcuate form and such a size that they suitably fill the hand when gripped by a user. However, the game controllers' design makes their placing in the user's pocket difficult or impossible. There are also some mobile phones designed particularly for gaming, with keypad arrangement on a front surface around the display so dimensioned and laid out that the user should be able to reasonably access the keys.
Various aspects of examples of this document are set out in the claims.
According to a first example aspect of this document, there is provided an apparatus comprising:
a first body part;
a second body part;
a support mechanism configured to keep the first and second body parts together while enabling a user to move the first and second body parts between a closed configuration and an open configuration; wherein:
According to a second example aspect of this document, there is provided a method comprising:
keeping with a support mechanism a first body part and a second body part of an apparatus together while enabling a user to move the first and second body parts between a closed configuration and an open configuration; wherein:
in the closed configuration, keeping the first and second body parts are stacked and the support mechanism is sandwiched between the first and second body parts; and
making user input equipment behind the first body part accessible to the user when the first and second body parts are in the open configuration and making the user input equipment not accessible to the user when the first and second body parts are in the closed configuration.
For a more complete understanding of example embodiments of the present invention, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
a shows a rear view of an apparatus according to another example embodiment of this document in an opened configuration;
b shows an apparatus according to another example embodiment of this document in an opened configuration;
The first body 110 part comprises, in the embodiment shown in
The second body part 120 comprises, in the embodiment shown in
In some embodiments of this document, there is provided user input equipment (such as one or more keys and/or one or more touchpads on the back of the second body part 120 on the flange part that extends over the tilt bridge 130 e.g. as in a region 134 of
The tilt bridge 530 of
The communication interface module 650 is configured to transmit information over one or more local links to external equipment such as a game console. In this example embodiment, the apparatus 600 is suited for use as a game controller for the game console. The communication interface module is further configured in some embodiments to receive information from the external equipment. The received information carries, in some example embodiments, feedback information according to which the apparatus 600 will provide user perceivable feedback to the user. The user perceivable feedback comprises, in different embodiments, for instance, tactile feedback such as vibration provided by the vibrator 660, audible feedback provided by a speaker (not shown) of the apparatus 600, visible feedback provided by a display (not shown in
The local links are implemented in some example embodiments as wired and/or wireless links. In one embodiment, the communication interface module 650 further implements telecommunication links suited for establishing links with other users or for data transfer (e.g. using the Internet). Such telecommunication links are, for instance, links using any of: wireless local area network links, Bluetooth, ultra-wideband, cellular or satellite communication links. Telecommunication links are used, in some embodiments, for network games. In one embodiment, the communication interface module 650 is integrated into the apparatus 600 or into an adapter, card or the like (that in one embodiment is inserted into a suitable slot or port of the apparatus 600). While
The establishing of links with other users with the communication interface is used in some embodiment, for instance, for network gaming or real-time conferencing.
The processor 610 is, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a graphics processing unit, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array, a micro apparatus 600 or a combination of such elements.
The memory 620 is, for example, a volatile or a non-volatile memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), a random-access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a data disk, an optical storage, a magnetic storage, a smart card, or the like. The apparatus 600 comprise one or more memories. The memory 620 is constructed as a part of the apparatus 600 in one embodiment. In another embodiment, the memory 620 is inserted into a slot, or connected via a port, or the like of the apparatus 600. In one embodiment, the memory 620 serves the sole purpose of storing data. In an alternative embodiment, the memory 620 is constructed as a part of an apparatus serving other purposes, such as processing data.
User input equipment use is detected 720. Depending on current context and embodiment, the user input is used locally (in step 760) or an indication of the user input is sent to external equipment, 730. In the latter case, in some embodiments, feedback information is received 740 from the external device and feedback is provided 750 to the user based on the received feedback information.
It is also detected 770 whether the open configuration is still in use and if yes, the process resumes to step 720, otherwise the process resumes to step 710 when the first and second body parts are again moved to the opened configuration. The first step of moving the first and second body parts can be performed by a user, while the other steps of
A skilled person appreciates that in addition to the elements shown in
Without in any way limiting the scope, interpretation, or application of the claims appearing below, a technical effect of one or more of the example embodiments disclosed herein is that the user is provided with a user input equipment that resides on a rear side of the apparatus and is concealed when the apparatus is brought from the open to the closed configuration. Another technical effect of one or more of the example embodiments disclosed herein is that the user input equipment is sandwiched between the movable body parts and thus is protected from undesired contact with other objects or the fabric of pockets when pocketed by the user. Another technical effect of one or more of the example embodiments disclosed herein is that the apparatus can be made compact for pocketing so that there are no protruding or potentially confusing user controls behind the apparatus when compacted. Another technical effect of one or more of the example embodiments disclosed herein is that the user input equipment is usable for gaming applications and for other applications such as web browsing, cursor control, text entry and shortcuts to preset and/or user defined services, functions and/or applications.
If desired, the different functions discussed herein may be performed in a different order and/or concurrently with each other. Furthermore, if desired, one or more of the above-described functions may be optional or may be combined.
Although various aspects of this document are set out in the independent claims, other aspects of this document comprise other combinations of features from the described embodiments and/or the dependent claims with the features of the independent claims, and not solely the combinations explicitly set out in the claims.
It is also noted herein that while the above describes example embodiments of this document, these descriptions should not be viewed in a limiting sense. Rather, there are several variations and modifications which may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.
