Patent Grant
8419303
This technology relates to a keyboard arrangement for an electronic device. In particular, the technology concerns a keyboard arrangement for a handheld mobile communication device.
Different standard keyboard arrangements are known. The most widely used English-language alphabetic key arrangement is the QWERTY arrangement, as shown in
A numeric phone key arrangement 42 is also known, as shown in
Mobile communication devices that include a combined text-entry keyboard and a telephony keyboard are also known. Examples of such mobile communication devices include mobile stations, cellular telephones, wireless personal digital assistants (PDAs), two-way paging devices, and others. Combining a traditional-style text-entry keyboard (e.g., a QWERTY-style keyboard) with a traditional-style telephony keyboard on the same mobile communication device typically involves undesirable ergonomic and/or intuitive user interface compromises.
One prior art device that incorporates a combined alphabetic/numeric keyboard is the RIM Blackberry 950 mobile communication device, shown in
An example of a mobile communication device having a keyboard assembly with a key arrangement is described in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 09/967,536 and 10/302,242 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,278,442, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,295,052 to Kato et al. and PCT Publication No. WO 02/088920 A1 to Kato et al. teach a data entry device in the form of a screen display key input unit that utilizes a reduced QWERTY arrangement on a touch screen keyboard. Numbers are overlaid on a selective number of alphabetic keys. Keys are selected by touching the screen of the display with a pen, or by utilizing a mouse.
Mobile communication devices currently utilize predictive text technologies to automatically correct common spelling errors and predict the desired word based upon the keystroke input. Predictive text methodologies often include a disambiguation engine and/or a predictive editor application. A number of U.S. and foreign patents discuss predictive text procedures, including: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,818,437, 5,952,942, 6,002,390, 6,223,059, 6,231,252, and 6,307,548; WO62150A1; WO9959310A2; WO0344650A2; EP1035712B1; EP129621A1; EP1378817A1; EP1347362A1; and EP1347361A1, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Several mobile communication device manufacturers utilize predictive text technologies, including RIM, Tegic, Motorola, Nokia, Sony, and NEC among others.
In accordance with the teachings described herein, a physical keyboard comprises a plurality of multi-functional keys and corresponding indicia including keys associated with alphabetic characters corresponding to a QWERTY array of letters A-Z and an overlaid numeric phone key arrangement. The plurality of keys that comprise alphabetic and/or numeric characters total fewer than 26.
In one embodiment, the number of keys that comprise alphabetic and numeric characters is 14. In this embodiment, the total number of keys, including other functional keys, is 20. The plurality of keys may comprise four rows and five columns of keys, with the four rows comprising in order a first, second, third and fourth row, and the five columns comprising in order a first, second, third, fourth, and fifth column. The QWERTY array of letters is associated with three of the four rows and the numeric phone key arrangement is associated with each of the four rows. The numeric phone key arrangement is associated with three of the five columns. Specifically, the numeric phone key arrangement may be associated with the second, third and fourth columns. The numeric phone key arrangement may alternatively be associated with keys in the first, second, third, and fourth rows, with keys in the first row including a number “1” in the second column, a number “2” in the third column, and a number “3” in the fourth column. The numeric phone keys associated with keys in the second row include a number “4” in the second column, a number “5” in the third column, and a number “6” in the fourth column. The numeric phone keys associated with keys in the third row include a number “7” in the second column, a number “8” in the third column, and a number “9” in the fourth column. The numeric phone keys associated with keys in the fourth row may include a “*” in the second column, a number “0” in the third column, and a “#” in the fourth column.
The physical keyboard may also include a function associated with at least one of the plurality of keys. The fourth row of keys may include an “alt” function in the first column, a “next” function in the second column, a “space” function in the third column, a “shift” function in the fourth column, and a “return/enter” function in the fifth column.
The first row of five keys may comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “QW”, “ER”, “TY”, “UI”, and “OP”. The second row of five keys may comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “AS”, “DF”, “GH”, “JK”, and “L”. The third row of five keys may comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “ZX”, “CV”, “BN”, and “M”.
In another embodiment, the first row of five keys may comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “QW”, “ER”, “TY”, “UI”, and “OP”. The second row of five keys may comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “AS”, “DF”, “GH”, and “JKL”. The third row of five keys may comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “ZXC”, “VB”, and “NM”.
In yet another embodiment, the first row of five keys may comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “QW”, “ER”, “TY”, “UI”, and “OP”. The second row of five keys may comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “AS”, “DF”, “GH”, “JK”, and “L”, and the third row of five keys may comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “Z”, “XC”, “VB”, and “NM”.
One of the plurality of keys on the physical keyboard is a “return/enter” key associated with a return/enter function. The “return/enter” key may be positioned in the fifth column. The “return/enter” key may be positioned in the fourth row.
In one embodiment, the first row of five keys may comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “QW”, “ER”, “TY”, “UI”, and “OP”. The second row of five keys may comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “AS”, “DF”, “GH”, “JK”, and “L”, and the third row of five keys may comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “ZX”, “CV”, “BN”, and “M”.
The plurality of keys may be aligned in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns to form a grid of keys, and, in one embodiment, at least one of the columns and the rows are straight. In another embodiment, one or more of the rows and the columns are non-linear.
The plurality of keys preferably comprise a shape. The shape may be uniform or non-uniform. In one embodiment, the plurality of keys is rectangular. In another embodiment, the keys are oval. In yet another embodiment, the keys are polygonal.
In a further embodiment of the physical keyboard, the number of keys is 24 and the plurality of keys includes a first, second, third and fourth row, and a first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh column, with the first row including seven keys, the second row including seven keys, the third row including seven keys, and the fourth row including three keys. The three keys of the fourth row may be positioned in the third, fourth, and fifth columns.
The first row of seven keys may comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “Q”, “W”, “ER”, “TY”, “UI”, “O”, and “P”. The second row of seven keys may comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “A”, “S”, “DF”, “GH”, “JK”, and “L”, and the third row of seven keys may comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “Z”, “XC”, “VB”, and “NM”. The numeric phone arrangement is associated with keys in the first, second, third, and fourth rows, with keys in the first row including a number “1” in the third column, a number “2” in the fourth column, and a number “3” in the fifth column. The numeric phone keys associated with keys in the second row include a number “4” in the third column, a number “5” in the fourth column, and a number “6” in the fifth column. The numeric phone keys associated with keys in the third row include a number “7” in the third column, a number “8” in the fourth column, and a number “9” in the fifth column. The numeric phone keys associated with keys in the fourth row may include a “*” in the third column, a number “0” in the fourth column, and a “#” in the fifth column.
In yet another embodiment, the plurality of keys comprise four rows and six columns of keys, with the four rows comprising a first, second, third and fourth row, and the six columns comprising a first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth column. The numeric phone key arrangement may be associated with the first, second, and third columns and with the first, second, third, and fourth rows.
The first row of six keys may comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “QW”, “E”, “RT”, “YU”, “I”, and “OP”. The second row of six keys may comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “AS”, “D”, “FG”, “HJ”, “K”, and “L”. The third row of six keys may comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “ZX”, “C”, “V”, “BN”, and “M”. The numeric phone keys may comprise keys in the first row including a number “1” in the first column, a number “2” in the second column, and a number “3” in the third column. The numeric phone keys associated with keys in the second row may include a number “4” in the first column, a number “5” in the second column, and a number “6” in the third column. The numeric phone keys associated with keys in the third row may include a number “7” in the first column, a number “8” in the second column, and a number “9” in the third column. The fourth row may comprise five keys that are misaligned with the first through sixth columns. The fourth row keys comprise a first, second, third, fourth, and fifth key, with the second key of the fourth row comprising the “0” of the numeric phone key arrangement.
In an alternative embodiment, the numeric phone key arrangement is associated with the second, third, and fourth columns and with the first, second, third, and fourth rows. The first row of six keys may comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “QW”, “E”, “RT”, “YU”, “I”, and “OP”. The second row of six keys may comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “AS”, “D”, “FG”, “HJ”, and “KL”. The third row of six keys may comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “ZX”, “CV”, “BN”, and “M”. The numeric phone arrangement may comprise keys in the first row including a number “1” in the second column, a number “2” in the third column, and a number “3” in the fourth column. The numeric phone keys associated with keys in the second row may include a number “4” in the second column, a number “5” in the third column, and a number “6” in the fourth column. The numeric phone keys associated with keys in the third row may include a number “7” in the second column, a number “8” in the third column, and a number “9” in the fourth column. The fourth row may comprise three keys that are misaligned with the first through sixth columns. The fourth row keys may comprise a first, a second, and a third key, with the first key of the fourth row comprising a “*”, the second key of the fourth row comprising a “0”, and the third key of the fourth row comprising a “#”.
In another embodiment, the plurality of keys comprise four rows and four columns of keys, with the four rows comprising a first, second, third and fourth row and the four columns comprising a first, second, third, and fourth column. In this embodiment, the numeric phone key arrangement is associated with the first, second, and third columns and with the first, second, third, and fourth rows. The first row includes four keys comprising keys corresponding in order to letters “QWE”, “RT”, “YU”, and “IOP”. The second row includes four keys comprising keys corresponding in order to letters “ASD”, “FGH”, and “JKL”. The third row includes four keys comprising keys corresponding in order to letters “ZXC”, “VB”, and “NM”. The numeric phone key arrangement comprises keys in the first row including a number “1” in the first column, a number “2” in the second column, and a number “3” in the third column. The numeric phone key arrangement comprises keys in the second row including a number “4” in the first column, a number “5” in the second column, and a number “6” in the third column. The numeric phone key arrangement comprises keys in the third row including a number “7” in the first column, a number “8” in the second column, and a number “9” in the third column. The fourth row includes four keys and the numeric phone key arrangement in the fourth row comprises keys in the first column of “*”, the second column of “0”, and the third column of “#”. The fourth key of the second row may be associated with a “backspace” function. The fourth key of the third row may be associated with a “return/enter” function. The first key of the fourth row may be associated with a “txt” function. The second key of the fourth row may be associated with a “space” function. The third key of the fourth row may be associated with a “shift” function and the fourth key of the fourth row may be associated with an “alt” function.
In a further embodiment, the physical keyboard comprises four rows of keys, with the first row of keys including a first number of keys, the second row of keys including the first number minus one number of keys, the third row of keys including the first number minus two number of keys, and the fourth row of keys including the first number minus three number of keys. The plurality of keys may be arranged symmetrically around a center line.
In yet another embodiment, the physical keyboard comprises four rows of keys, with the first row of keys including a first number of keys, the second row of keys including fewer keys than the first row, the third row of keys including fewer keys than the second row, and the fourth row of keys including fewer keys than the third row. The plurality of keys may be arranged symmetrically around a center line.
The indicia associated with the physical keyboard may comprise alphabetic indicia and numeric indicia, with the alphabetic indicia having a first color and the numeric indicia having a second color. The first and second colors may be the same or different. The alphabetic indicia and/or numeric indicia may be positioned on the plurality of keys. The alphabetic indicia and numeric indicia has a font and a font size. The font size of the alphabetic indicia may be the same as or different from the font size of the numeric indicia. The font of the alphabetic indicia may be the same as or different from the numeric indicia. The font size of the alphabetic indicia may be about ⅓ the font size of the numeric indicia. In another embodiment, the numeric indicia may have a font size of 10 mm.
The keyboard may also include a touch identifying portion in the form of a raised bump or a recessed dimple that is associated with one of the keys. In one embodiment, the identifying portion is positioned on a key associated with the number “5”.
In another embodiment of the physical keyboard, the keyboard comprises a plurality of multi-functional keys and corresponding indicia includes keys associated with alphabetic characters corresponding to a QWERTY array of letters A-Z. The plurality of keys is overlaid with a numeric phone key arrangement. The numeric phone key arrangement is associated with a subset of the plurality of keys, and the subset of keys is arranged symmetrically about a center line.
The plurality of keys may be arranged in rows and columns, with the “1”, “2”, and “3” of the numeric phone key arrangement being associated with keys in a first row, the “4”, “5”, and “6” of the numeric phone key arrangement being associated with keys in a second row, and the “7”, “8”, and “9” of the numeric phone key arrangement being associated with keys in a third row. The “0” of the numeric phone key arrangement is associated with a key in the fourth row, and the “0” key is centered beneath the remainder of the numeric phone key arrangement. The plurality of keys may also comprise a “*” associated with one of the plurality of keys and a “#” associated with one of the plurality of keys. The “*” key is positioned directly adjacent one side of the “0” key and the “#” key is positioned directly adjacent the other side of the “0” key.
In yet another embodiment, a physical keyboard arrangement comprises a reduced column QWERTY array of letters A-Z overlaid with a numeric phone key array. The numeric phone key array includes at least numbers. The numeric phone key array may also include symbols.
In a further embodiment, a physical keyboard comprises a plurality of multi-functional keys and corresponding indicia including a reduced column QWERTY alphabetic key arrangement. The plurality of keys is overlaid with a numeric phone key arrangement. The number of columns may be an odd number and the numeric phone key arrangement may be centered over the columns. In a preferred embodiment, the number of columns is five and the physical keyboard arrangement further comprises four rows, with the QWERTY key arrangement utilizing keys in three of the four rows and the numeric phone key arrangement utilizing keys in each of the four rows.
In yet another embodiment, a physical keyboard comprises a plurality of multi-functional keys and corresponding indicia including keys associated with alphabetic characters corresponding to a QWERTY array of letters A-Z. The plurality of keys is positioned in seven columns including a first, a second, a third, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth, and a seventh column and at least three rows including a first, a second, and a third row.
The first row may include seven keys that comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “QW”, “E”, “R”, “TY”, “U”, “I”, and “OP”. The second row may include seven keys that comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “A”, “S”, “DF”, “G”, “H”, “JK”, and “L”. The third row may include seven keys that comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “ZX”, “C”, “VB”, “N”, and “M”. The physical keyboard may also comprise a fourth row of keys having at least five keys. The at least five keys are associated with the functions of “next”, “shift”, “space”, “shift”, and “enter”.
The first row of seven keys may comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “QW”, “E”, “R”, “TY”, “U”, “I”, and “OP”. The second row of seven keys may comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “A”, “S”, “DF”, “GH”, “JK”, and “L”. The third row of seven keys may comprise keys corresponding in order to letters “ZX”, “C”, “VB”, “N”, and “M”.
The physical keyboard may include a fourth row with a numeric phone key arrangement overlaying the QWERTY array. In one embodiment, the numeric phone key arrangement is associated with the third, fourth, and fifth columns. In another embodiment, the numeric phone key arrangement is associated with the first, second, and third columns. In yet another embodiment, the numeric phone key arrangement is associated with the second, third, and fourth columns.
In another embodiment, a handheld mobile station comprises a housing, a display, and a physical keyboard comprising a first user interface having a set of keys associated therewith and a second user interface having a set of keys associated therewith. A subset of the set of keys for the second user interface is a subset of the set of keys for the first user interface. The first user interface is selected from the group consisting of QWERTY, QWERTZ, AZERTY, or DVORAK. The second user interface is a numeric phone key arrangement. The set of keys for the first user interface comprises less than 26 keys. The second user interface may be centered on a face of the handheld mobile station.
Alternatively, the second user interface may be positioned substantially on the left side of the face of the handheld mobile station. The second user interface could also be positioned substantially on the right side of the face of the handheld mobile station.
A “0” indicia for the second user interface may be presented on a key representing a space bar associated with the first user interface. Indicia associated with the first user interface may be presented on the set of keys for the first user interface and indicia associated with the second user interface may be presented on the housing. Alternatively, indicia associated with the first user interface may be presented on the set of keys for the first user interface and indicia associated with the second user interface may be presented on the set of keys for the second user interface.
A first area of a front surface of the housing may have a first color in and around an area near the set of keys for the second user interface. The first color may be different from a second color in a second area of the front surface contiguous to at least a portion of the first area. A first and a second color on the set of keys may be associated with the first user interface. The first color may dominate a top portion of the set of keys and the second color may dominate a bottom portion of the set of keys. The second color may be associated with the set of keys for the first user interface.
In another embodiment of the physical keyboard, a plurality of keys have one or more indicia on each key, with the plurality of keys forming at least a first user interface on the physical keyboard. The keys and indicia of the first user interface are arranged so as to form a QWERTY alphabetic configuration, with a majority of the keys of the first user interface representing more than one alphabetic letter per key. The physical keyboard also comprises a subset of the plurality of keys, with each key of the subset having indicia representing a number 0-9. The subset forms a second user interface positioned in a numeric phone keypad arrangement on the physical keyboard. The indicia representing numbers is larger in size than any alphabetic indicia on the subset of keys. The subset of keys may further include the symbols “*” and “#”.
In yet another embodiment, a physical keyboard comprises a plurality of keys having one or more indicia on each key. The plurality of keys form at least a first user interface on the physical keyboard. The keys and indicia of the first user interface are arranged so as to form a QWERTY alphabetic configuration, with a majority of the keys of the first user interface representing more than one alphabetic letter per key. The plurality of keys on the physical keyboard is less than 26 keys. The physical keyboard also comprises a subset of the plurality of keys. Each key of the subset has indicia representing a character from a numeric phone keypad arrangement. The subset forms a second user interface arranged as a numeric phone keypad on the physical keyboard. The character from a numeric phone keypad may be selected from the group consisting of: “0”, “1”, “2”, “3”, “4”, “5”, “6”, “7”, “8”, “9”, “*” and “#”.
In a further embodiment, a physical keyboard comprises a plurality of multi-functional keys and corresponding indicia including keys associated with alphabetic characters corresponding to a QWERTY array of letters A-Z, an overlaid numeric key array of numbers 0-9, and a “space” function. The number “0” and the “space” function are associated with the same key.
The numeric key array may be oriented in a numeric phone key arrangement. The plurality of keys may be arranged in at least four rows and at least four columns, with at least some of the keys being associated with more than one alphabetic character.
In yet another embodiment, a physical keyboard comprises a plurality of multi-functional keys and corresponding indicia including keys associated with alphabetic characters corresponding to a QWERTY array of letters A-Z and an overlaid numeric array of numbers 0-9. The overlaid numeric array of numbers comprise greater than 10 keys, such that at least one of the numbers is associated with two or more keys.
The alphabetic characters may each be positioned on a single key and a number of keys utilized for alphabetic characters is 26. Alternatively, a number of keys utilized for alphabetic characters may be less than 26 such that at least two of the alphabetic characters are associated with a single key.
The numeric keys may comprise at least two keys associated with the numbers “1”, at least two keys associated with the numbers “3”, at least two keys associated with the numbers “4”, at least two keys associated with the numbers “6”, at least two keys associated with the numbers “7”, and at least two keys associated with the numbers “9”. In addition, the numeric keys may further comprise at least two keys associated with the numbers “2”, at least two keys associated with the numbers “5”, and at least two keys associated with the numbers “8”.
In another embodiment, a physical keyboard comprises a plurality of multi-functional keys comprising an alphabetic array of keys comprising the alphabetic characters A-Z and a numeric array of keys comprising the numeric characters 0-9 overlaid on the alphabetic array of keys. The alphabetic and numeric characters share at least some of the plurality of keys. The plurality of keys are arranged in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns, each of which has a column width. The numeric keys are spaced at least one column width from one another.
In another embodiment, a physical keyboard comprises a plurality of multi-functional keys and corresponding indicia including keys associated with alphabetic characters corresponding to a QWERTY array of letters A-Z and an overlaid numeric phone key arrangement. The numeric phone key arrangement is centered on the keys associated with alphabetic characters. The plurality of keys may be arranged in rows and columns, with alphabetic characters being associated with a first row, a second row, and a third row, and numbers being associated with the first row, the second row, the third row, and a fourth row, with a “1”, “2”, and “3” being associated with the first row, a “4”, “5”, and “6” being associated with the second row, and a “7”, “8”, and “9” being associated with the third row. A “0” is associated with the fourth row and is centered beneath the numeric keys in the first, second, and third row.
A mobile communication device having a face may utilize the physical keyboard, described above. The physical keyboard is associated with the face and the numeric array of keys is positioned symmetrically on the face of the device.
In another embodiment, a physical keyboard comprises a plurality of multi-functional keys and corresponding indicia including keys associated with alphabetic characters corresponding to a reduced QWERTY array of letters A-Z and a subset of the plurality of keys corresponding to a numeric phone key arrangement. The numeric phone key arrangement is oriented on the keyboard such that the subset of keys is symmetrical about a common center line.
In a further embodiment, a plurality of multi-functional keys and corresponding indicia includes keys associated with alphabetic characters corresponding to a reduced QWERTY array of letters A-Z and a subset of the plurality of keys corresponding to an numeric phone key arrangement. The plurality of keys are arranged in a first row, a second row, a third row, and a fourth row, and a plurality of columns. The subset of keys comprises a “1”, “2”, and “3” associated with keys in the first row, a “4”, “5”, and “6” associated with keys in the second row, a “7”, “8”, and “9” associated with keys in a third row, and a “0” associated with a key in the fourth row. In addition, the “1”, “4”, and “7” are aligned in a first column, the “2”, “5”, “8”, and “0” are aligned in a second column, and the “3”, “6”, and “9” are aligned in a third column. The key associated with “0” is centered beneath the 1-9 keys of the numeric phone key arrangement.
The first, second, and third columns may be a subset of the plurality of columns, and the first, second, and third columns may be centered among the plurality of columns. Alternatively, the first, second, and third columns may be a subset of the plurality of columns, and the first, second, and third columns may be not centered among the plurality of columns.
In another embodiment, a physical keyboard comprises a plurality of multi-functional keys and corresponding indicia including keys associated with alphabetic characters corresponding to a QWERTY array of letters A-Z and a subset of the plurality of keys corresponding to a numeric array of numbers 0-9, “*”, and “4”. The key associated with “0” is positioned between a key associated with “*” and a key associated with “4”. The plurality of keys may comprise rows and columns, and the keys associated with “*”, “0”, and “#” are all positioned in the same row. The key associated with “*” may be positioned to the left of and adjacent to the key associated with “0”, and the key associated with “#” may be positioned to the right of and adjacent to the key associated with “0”.
In yet another embodiment, the physical keyboard comprises a plurality of multi-functional keys and corresponding indicia including keys associated with alphabetic characters corresponding to a QWERTY array of letters A-Z, a first subset of the plurality of keys corresponding to a numeric array of numbers 0-9, and a second subset of the plurality of keys corresponding to the symbols “*” and “#”. The first subset of keys and the second subset of keys do not overlap.
The physical keyboard or physical keyboard arrangements, described above, may be used with a handheld mobile communication device and a mobile communication device having a telephony mode and a text-entry mode, among other devices.
In yet another embodiment, a method for operating a mobile communication device having the physical keyboard described above comprises inputting numbers into a mobile communication device by striking keys with the fingers of a single hand, and inputting letters into a mobile communication device by striking keys with the fingers of two hands. The method may also include inputting functional commands and symbols by striking keys with fingers from a single hand, or inputting functional commands and symbols by striking keys with the fingers of two hands.
In a further embodiment, a keyboard comprises a plurality of keys and corresponding indicia including keys associated with alphabetic characters corresponding to a standard keyboard layout array of letters A-Z and an overlaid numeric phone key arrangement corresponding to the numbers 0-9. The plurality of keys associated with alphabetic characters number fewer than 26. In addition, the keyboard includes at least one function key comprising a space key, with the space key having a height that is greater than the height of the remainder of the plurality of keys.
The space key may be positioned in a row of keys and may extend below the remainder of keys in the row of keys. In one embodiment, the plurality of keys is arranged in a grid pattern having a plurality of columns and rows, and the space key is positioned in a bottom row of keys and extends below the remainder of keys in the bottom row. The space key may be centered in the bottom row of keys. The space key may share a key with the number 0. The space key is configured to be contacted by the finger of a user utilizing touch. The standard keyboard layout comprises one of QWERTY, QWERTZ, AZERTY, and DVORAK.
In another embodiment, a keyboard comprises a plurality of keys arranged in a grid pattern having a plurality of rows including a bottom row. The plurality of keys are associated with indicia corresponding to letters A-Z, numbers 0-9, and at least one function. The keys positioned in the bottom row have a top line of alignment and a bottom line of alignment, with an area positioned between the top and bottom lines of alignment. At least one of the keys of the plurality of keys comprises an elongated key that extends outside of the area between the top and bottom lines of alignment.
The elongated key may extend below the bottom line of alignment. The elongated key may be centered in its respective row of keys. The at least one function may comprise a space function, and the elongated key may comprise a single key that is associated with the space function. The elongated key may further be associated with the number 0.
In a further embodiment, a keyboard comprises a plurality of keys arranged in a grid pattern having a plurality of rows, with each of the rows having a top line of alignment and a bottom line of alignment such that each key in the row is at least partially positioned in an area between the top and bottom lines. The plurality of keys are associated with indicia corresponding to letters A-Z, numbers 0-9, and at least one function. At least one key of the plurality of keys extends outside the area between the top and bottom lines of alignment for the respective row.
The plurality of rows may include a bottom row, and the at least one key that extends outside the area between the top and bottom lines is positioned in the bottom row. The at least one key that extends outside the area between the top and bottom lines may have a height that is greater than a height of any other keys in the respective row that the at least one key is positioned in. The at least one key that extends outside the area between the top and bottom lines may be positioned in the bottom, center row of the grid pattern. The at least one key that extends outside the area between the top and bottom lines may be associated with a space function. The at least one key that extends outside the area between the top and bottom lines may be further associated with at least one number.
With reference now to the drawings,
The example physical keyboard 14 may be used for text entry and telephony entry and is intended to marry well known keyboards, such as those used on computer or typewriter keyboards, with keypads, such as those used on touch tone phones or cellular phones, into a single arrangement. The example physical keyboard is designed to be readily familiar to a user because of this marriage. The keyboard 14 provides a first user interface that includes alphabetic characters 44 comprising a standard alphabetic format, such as QWERTY, QWERTZ, AZERTY, or DVORAK, among other known formats, for text entry, and a second user interface that includes numeric characters for telephony entry. Current standard alphabetic keyboard formats utilize 26 keys for alphabetic characters, as shown in
The preferred reduced physical keyboard is accomplished by utilizing fewer columns than a standard format keyboard. Because of this, the keyboard 14 is well suited for application on a housing form factor similar to that of a housing associated with a numeric-keypad-based mobile communication device. In particular, the reduced column keyboard 14 provides for reduced size devices without sacrificing speed and convenience to a user. The reduced key keyboard also allows for smaller devices that are more stylish and fashionable.
The second user interface of the example keyboard 14 includes numeric characters that correspond to a phone pad 42, including the numbers 0-9. It is preferred that the array of numbers be presented on the keyboard in the format of a standard numeric phone key arrangement 42, depicted in
In one embodiment, the numeric phone key arrangement 42 may also utilize a surface treatment on the surface of the center “5” key in the form of a raised bump or recessed dimple 43. This bump or dimple 43 is typically standard on telephones and is used to identify the “5” key through touch alone. Once the user has identified the “5” key, it is possible to identify the remainder of the phone keys through touch alone because of their standard placement. The bump or dimple 43 is depicted in
The fourth row 56 may also include the symbols “*” and “#”, although these symbols may alternatively be positioned at other locations on the keyboard 14, as shown in
In an alternative embodiment, shown in
The keyboard 14 may further include symbols and functions that are typically utilized with keyboards. Example symbols include “.”, “,”, “;”, “″”, “′”, “:”, “?”, “/”, “>”, “<”, “!”, “@”, “˜”, “$”, “%”, “^”, “&”, “(”, “)”, “_”, “−”, “+”, “=”, “[”, “]”, “{”, “}”, “|”, and “\”, among other known symbols. Example functions include “tab”, “caps lock”, “shift”, “control”, “alt”, “return/enter”, “backspace”, “insert”, “delete”, “home”, “end”, “page up”, “page down”, “end”, “escape”, “pause”, “break”, “send”, “end”, “txt”, “sym” and “scroll lock”, among other known functions associated with text entry or telephony entry.
The keys on the physical keyboard 14 that are associated with numbers may be used in both text mode and in telephony (numeric) mode. The keyboard 14 may include a mode selection key, or other hardware or software for switching between text entry (the first user interface) and telephony entry (the second user interface). The telephony characters may be input when the mobile communication device 10 is in telephony or text-entry mode, and the text-entry characters may be input when the mobile communication device 10 is in text-entry mode. The functional keys may also be configured to operate in both the telephony mode and the text-entry mode, or, alternatively, one or more of the functional keys may be operable in only the telephony mode or the text-entry mode. In this manner, the keyboard 14 has at least two distinct ergonomic configurations depending upon the mode of the mobile communication device 10.
In a preferred embodiment, a toggle key is utilized for mode selection between the text-entry and telephony (numeric) modes. Sample toggle keys include the “alt” or “shift” key, where the user selects one of these keys to switch data input from text-entry to telephony mode, or vice versa.
Alternatively, software may be used to determine the mode of entry. If the user is utilizing the telephony application, the default data entry mode will be numbers. If the user is utilizing the text-entry application, such as when composing an email, the default data entry mode will be text. When in each of these modes, the user may switch modes manually by utilizing a toggle key. For example, to enter text in a telephony application, the user selects the “alt” key and then presses the desired alphanumeric key corresponding to the desired letter. Software could also be used to predict whether the user is in telephony or text-entry mode, based upon the keystrokes that are entered by the user. By providing both a text-entry and a telephony mode, the keyboard design results in at least two distinct, but familiar user interfaces that the user has likely had experience using separately on two distinct devices. In each of the reduced format keyboards 14 discussed herein, the selection of a particular character, number, symbol, or function may be derived from predictive text software residing on the mobile communication device and/or from multiple switches associated with the keys, as discussed in greater detail below.
Referring again to the drawings,
Indicia is positioned on each key to indicate which alphabetic characters, numbers, symbols and functions are associated with each key. In order to differentiate the alphabetic characters and numbers from one another, the font size of the numerical indicia on the keys shown in
Symbols, where not shown, may also be included on the keys shown in the figures. In each of the embodiments shown in
The physical keyboard 14 includes hardware and software associated with each of the keys for entry of a character, as indicated by indicia on or near the key. An example of a mobile communication device having a keyboard assembly with hardware and software associated with key entry is described in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 09/967,537 and 10/302,242 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,278,442, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, and depicted in
Referring to
A display 16 is preferably mounted on the PCB 264, as shown in
A speaker 234 is preferably mounted at or near the top of the PCB 264. One or more apertures 235 in the first device housing section 260 are positioned to at least partially expose the speaker 234 when the first and second device housing sections 260, 262 are coupled together. A microphone 236 is mounted in the second device housing section 262. The microphone 236 is at least partially exposed by the aperture 2378 in the second device housing section, and coupled to the PCB and other device components. Audio or voice inputs to the microphone 236 may be used, for example, to generate voice communications. When the microphone 236 is positioned in the housing, an aperture (not shown) is provided in the first device housing section 260 to at least partially expose the microphone 236. The microphone 236 may alternatively be mounted in the first device housing section 260 or on the PCB 264.
The device housing sections 260, 262 may include further apertures to expose or partially expose other device components. In the first device housing section 260, apertures 270, 272 and 274 are configured to partially expose the auxiliary I/O devices. An aperture 268 is similarly positioned in the second device housing section 262 to at least partially expose an auxiliary I/O device 228D. An aperture 266 in the second device housing section 262 may be provided to accommodate a power supply such as a battery. Other apertures may also be provided in the device housing as necessary.
Other internal components of the device 10 may also be mounted on the PCB 264. The device components are interconnected to provide at least data and voice communication functionality, possibly in addition to further local non-communication functions and short-range communication functions. Although these other internal components are not shown in
The first and second device housing sections 260, 262, when coupled together, form a handheld mobile communication device housing 10 enclosing the PCB 264 and internal components. The apertures 235, 223, 235 and 237B at least partially expose the speaker 234, display 16, keyboard 14 and microphone 236 as described above. Partial exposure of these components allows a user to make use of these components while at the same time protecting the components from damage. Apertures 268, 270, 272, 274 similarly expose and protect auxiliary I/O devices. When access to a component will normally be required relatively infrequently, a removable cover element may be provided for a corresponding device housing aperture. In the above example of a device power supply, a cover (not shown) is preferably provided for the aperture 266. Access to the power supply is thereby possible when required, yet the battery remains protected when access thereto is not necessary.
The assembly in
The mobile communication device 10 may also include a predictive text computer program that is used in conjunction with the keyboard. Predictive test software is useful in reduced format keyboards, such as the example keyboard, in order to identify the desired input from the combination of keystrokes of a user. A predictive text computer program may, for example, be used to predict a complete word or phrase from one or more keystrokes. If the predictive text computer program does not successfully predict a desired word or phrase, then text-entry characters may be entered more precisely, albeit more slowly, by selecting the appropriate characters on the keys. An example predictive text computer program is described in the following co-owned patent applications, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety: “Customizable Predictive Text Method For Reduced Keyboards,” U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/397,680, filed Jul. 23, 2002; “Systems and Methods of Building and Using Custom Word Lists,” International Patent Application No. PCT/CA03/01103, filed Jul. 23, 2003, and “Portable Electronic Device With Keyboard”, International Patent Application No. PCT/CA02/00862, filed Jun. 10, 2002.
A number of different predictive text technologies are known and may be utilized with the example keyboard. In a multi-tap methodology, the user taps a key multiple times until a desired letter, number, symbol, or function is selected. This technology has been utilized on cell phones and touch screen devices, among other devices. Companies that offer solutions for the multi-tap method include Motorola (e.g., iTAP); Zi (e.g., eZiText); AOL (Tegic) (e.g., T9); and Eatoni (e.g., LetterWise). A related method is the long tap method, where a user depresses the key until the desired character appears on the display.
Another technology involves predictive text methodologies. These methodologies utilize database software to predict the entered text. One method involves automatically correcting common spelling mistakes (e.g., “teh” corrected to “the”). Predictive text methodologies use known spellings of words in combination with their probabilities and frequencies of use to determine a preferred word based upon input commands by a user. Disambiguation engines and predictive editor applications may be used to establish a single grammatical or semantic interpretation of the keystrokes entered by a user. With predictive editor applications, the display of the device depicts possible character sequences corresponding to the keystrokes that were entered. Typically, the most commonly used word is displayed first. The user may select other, less common words manually, or otherwise. Other types of predictive text computer programs may be utilized with the keyboard arrangement and keyboard described herein, without limitation.
The handheld mobile communication devices 10, presented in
The housing 12 may be elongated vertically, or may take on other sizes and shapes, including a clamshell housing structure, among other structures. The keyboard may include a mode selection key, or other hardware or software for switching between text entry and telephony entry.
In addition to the processing device 18, other parts of the mobile communication device 10 are shown schematically in
Operating system software executed by the processing device 18 is preferably stored in a persistent store, such as a flash memory 116, but may be stored in other types of memory devices, such as a read only memory (ROM) or similar storage element. In addition, system software, specific device applications, or parts thereof, may be temporarily loaded into a volatile store, such as a random access memory (RAM) 118. Communication signals received by the mobile communication device may also be stored to the RAM 118.
The processing device 18, in addition to its operating system functions, enables execution of software applications 130A-130N on the device 10. A predetermined set of applications that control basic device operations, such as data and voice communications 130A and 130B, may be installed on the device 10 during manufacture. In addition, a personal information manager (PIM) application may be installed during manufacture. The PIM is preferably capable of organizing and managing data items, such as e-mail, calendar events, voice mails, appointments, and task items. The PIM application is also preferably capable of sending and receiving data items via a wireless network 140. Preferably, the PIM data items are seamlessly integrated, synchronized and updated via the wireless network 140 with the device user's corresponding data items stored or associated with a host computer system. An example system and method for accomplishing these steps is disclosed in “System And Method For Pushing Information From A Host System To A Mobile Device Having A Shared Electronic Address,” U.S. Pat. No. 6,219,694, which is owned by the assignee of the present application, and which is incorporated herein by reference.
Communication functions, including data and voice communications, are performed through the communication subsystem 100, and possibly through the short-range communications subsystem. The communication subsystem 100 includes a receiver 150, a transmitter 152, and one or more antennas 154, 156. In addition, the communication subsystem 100 also includes a processing module, such as a digital signal processor (DSP) 158, and local oscillators (LOs) 160. The specific design and implementation of the communication subsystem 100 is dependent upon the communication network in which the mobile communication device 10 is intended to operate. For example, a mobile communication device 10 may include a communication subsystem 100 designed to operate with the Mobitex™, Data TAC™ or General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) mobile data communication networks and also designed to operate with any of a variety of voice communication networks, such as AMPS, TDMA, CDMA, PCS, GSM, etc. Other types of data and voice networks, both separate and integrated, may also be utilized with the mobile communication device 10.
Network access requirements vary depending upon the type of communication system. For example, in the Mobitex and DataTAC networks, mobile devices are registered on the network using a unique personal identification number or PIN associated with each device. In GPRS networks, however, network access is associated with a subscriber or user of a device. A GPRS device therefore requires a subscriber identity module, commonly referred to as a SIM card, in order to operate on a GPRS network.
When required network registration or activation procedures have been completed, the mobile communication device 10 may send and receive communication signals over the communication network 140. Signals received from the communication network 140 by the antenna 154 are routed to the receiver 150, which provides for signal amplification, frequency down conversion, filtering, channel selection, etc., and may also provide analog to digital conversion. Analog-to-digital conversion of the received signal allows the DSP 158 to perform more complex communication functions, such as demodulation and decoding. In a similar manner, signals to be transmitted to the network 140 are processed (e.g. modulated and encoded) by the DSP 158 and are then provided to the transmitter 152 for digital to analog conversion, frequency up conversion, filtering, amplification and transmission to the communication network 140 (or networks) via the antenna 156.
In addition to processing communication signals, the DSP 158 provides for control of the receiver 150 and the transmitter 152. For example, gains applied to communication signals in the receiver 150 and transmitter 152 may be adaptively controlled through automatic gain control algorithms implemented in the DSP 158.
In a data communication mode, a received signal, such as a text message or web page download, is processed by the communication subsystem 100 and is input to the processing device 18. The received signal is then further processed by the processing device 18 for an output to the display 16, or alternatively to some other auxiliary I/O device 106. A device user may also compose data items, such as e-mail messages, using the keyboard 14 and/or some other auxiliary I/O device 106, such as a touchpad, a rocker switch, a thumb-wheel, or some other type of input device. The composed data items may then be transmitted over the communication network 140 via the communication subsystem 100.
In a voice communication mode, overall operation of the device is substantially similar to the data communication mode, except that received signals are output to a speaker 110, and signals for transmission are generated by a microphone 112. Alternative voice or audio I/O subsystems, such as a voice message recording subsystem, may also be implemented on the device 10. In addition, the display 16 may also be utilized in voice communication mode, for example to display the identity of a calling party, the duration of a voice call, or other voice call related information.
The short-range communications subsystem enables communication between the mobile communication device 10 and other proximate systems or devices, which need not necessarily be similar devices. For example, the short-range communications subsystem may include an infrared device and associated circuits and components, or a Bluetooth™ communication module to provide for communication with similarly-enabled systems and devices.
As described above, a preferred example keyboard represents a marriage of a text entry keyboard with a telephony keypad, but in a reduced key format. The example keyboard can be used in two modes. In a first mode, the user utilizes two hands to input text characters, similar to the use of a standard 26 key keyboard. In a second mode, the user utilizes a single hand to input numeric characters in telephony mode. Thus, the example keyboard provides two different methods for input, both of which are already familiar separately to a user.
Accordingly, the example keyboard also concerns a method for operating a keyboard and for inputting text and telephony commands on a keyboard. The method includes inputting numbers into a mobile communication device utilizing a single hand and inputting text into a mobile communication device utilizing two hands. The method further includes inputting functional commands and symbols utilizing two hands. Alternatively, functional commands and symbols may be input utilizing one hand.
The keys may be toggle keys or non-toggle keys, if desired. Additional or fewer rows and columns, above and beyond the number shown herein, may also be provided to position functional and other keys, if desired. Furthermore, the keys may be aligned in columns, or may be staggered, in some embodiments.
While most of the examples depict a QWERTY arrangement of alphabetic characters, the examples are equally applicable to other standard arrangements. Moreover, the QWERTY keyboard has been presented with certain combinations of alphabetic characters on each key. Other combinations may alternatively be utilized, without limitation, as long as the alphabetic characters are presented in the same order as their standard arrangement.
The word “substantially” is used herein as an estimation term.
While various features of the claimed invention are presented above, it should be understood that the features may be used singly or in any combination thereof. Therefore, the claimed invention is not to be limited to only the specific embodiments depicted herein.
Further, it should be understood that variations and modifications may occur to those skilled in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. The embodiments described herein are exemplary of the claimed invention. The disclosure may enable those skilled in the art to make and use embodiments having alternative elements that likewise correspond to the elements of the invention recited in the claims. The intended scope of the invention may thus include other embodiments that do not differ or that insubstantially differ from the literal language of the claims. The scope of the present invention is accordingly defined as set forth in the appended claims.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/217,530, filed Sep. 1, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,819,598 which is a continuation of PCT Application No. CA2004/002210, filed Dec. 30, 2004, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/785,790, filed Feb. 24, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,083,342 which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/533,487, filed on Dec. 31, 2003. This application incorporates U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/217,530, PCT application No. CA2004/002210, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/785,790, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/533,487 by reference in their entities.
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