Claims
- 1. An apparatus for data input into an electronic device, comprising:
a plurality keypanels and a fold line in between two adjacent keypanels, along the fold lines, the keypanels can be folded, wherein the keypanels form a substantially smooth surface when unfolded, wherein the surface is divided into a plurality of keyareas and a unique keystroke signal can be generated by the keyarea when the keyarea is pressed; and a connector through which the signals from keypanels are transmitted to the electronic device.
- 2. The apparatus as in claim 1, wherein one keypanel further comprising a toggle key, and wherein a keyarea on the keypanels generates a different keystroke signal before and after the toggle key is pressed.
- 3. The apparatus as in claim 1, wherein keyareas in a keypanel are arranged into colums and rows;
wherein each row is perpendicular to the fold lines; wherein each column is parallel to the fold lines; and wherein each row comprises at least two keyareas and each column comprises at least two keyareas.
- 4. The apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the keypanel comprises a touch screen.
- 5. The apparatus as in claim 4, wherein the size of keyarea is adjustable according to the sizes of a user's fingers.
- 6. The apparatus as in claim 4, wherein the keypanel further comprises a displaying screen.
- 7. The apparatus as in claim 6, wherein the touch screen and display screen comprises:
a) a layer of clear protective coat; b) a layer of pressure sensitive sheet; c) a layer of liquid crystal display; and d) a layer of hard backing.
- 8. The apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the keypanel comprises a membrane switch.
- 9. The apparatus as in claim 1, wherein each keypanel is less than 90 mm high, less than 60 mm wide and less than 2 mm thick.
- 10. The apparatus for data input into an electronic device as in claim 1, further comprises:
a plurality of keydots, each having a first surface and second surface wherein the first surface is adapted to be temporarily attached to a human finger tip; and wherein the second surface can be pressed against the keyareas on the keypanels to cause the keypanels to generate keystroke signals.
- 11. The apparatus for data input into an electronic device as in claim 1, further comprises:
a housing, mechanically and electronically connected to a keypanel and the connector; and an electronic circuit board housed inside the housing for processing the signals generated by the keyareas on the keypanels.
- 12. The apparatus as in claim 9, wherein each keypanel is 1 mm thick or less.
- 13. The apparatus as in claim 12, wherein each keypanel is 0.2 mm thick or less.
- 14. The apparatus as in claim 7, wherein the display screen is about 90 mm high by 216 mm wide with 250×550 pixels.
- 15. A foldable keyboard comprising:
a keyboard body composed of at least two touch panels in serial connection wherein adjacent touch panels being connected by a flexible printed circuit such that the touch panels can be stacked each other and expanded; and a plurality of keys formed by segmenting a plurality of blocks on the touch panels.
- 16. A foldable keyboard for portable electronic devices comprising:
a keyboard body having a plurality of touch panels, and a plurality of flexible printed circuits electrically connected two adjacent touch panels in a lateral direction thereby enabling the keyboard body to fold laterally in a stacked way, in which the keyboard body has the same area as that of main typing region on a standard-sized computer keyboard when unfolding the touch panels; each touch panel having a pair of conductive membranes being segmented into a plurality of blocks, in which the touch panels generates a panel signal when the pair of conductive membranes are pressed into contact, and each block corresponds to a panel signal; and a plurality of legends formed on the touch panels, wherein the legends respectively corresponds to the blocks and are arranged as the standard keyboard.
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a Continuation Application of a co-pending utility patent application Ser. No. 10/314,516, filed on Dec. 9, 2002, titled “A keyless keyboard and keys and a method of using them,” by the same inventor, which claims priority from a provisional application filed on Dec. 11, 2001, Ser. No. 60/340,768 with the same title under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e).
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60340768 |
Dec 2001 |
US |
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10314516 |
Dec 2002 |
US |
Child |
10885048 |
Jul 2004 |
US |