Patent Application
20130194189
1. Statement of the Technical Field
The inventive arrangements relate to mobile computing devices such as tablet computers.
2. Description of Related Art
Mobile computing devices, such as tablet computers or tablets, are commonly operated while being held in one or both hands of a user. Tablets typically include a housing, and a display mounted on the housing. Tablets may include software and sensors that cause the visual output of the display to appear right side up to the user, regardless of the orientation in which the tablet is held.
Tablets and other mobile computing devices can include input devices, such as keys, that permit the user to enter inputs corresponding to specific functions. For example, tablets can be equipped with mechanical or capacitive keys that permit the user to enter functional inputs such as return and screen-refresh commands, and inputs that facilitate movement of a cursor around an image on the display. The keys are usually located near a side of the tablet, so that the user can manipulate the keys using a thumb or other finger of one hand while holding the tablet with that hand.
A user may prefer to operate the keys or other input devices using the left or right hand. This preference may be driven by the left or right-handedness of the user, i.e., a right-handed user may prefer to use his or her right hand to actuate the keys because the user is right-handed, and vice-versa regarding left-handed users. At other times, a user may need to use the left or right hand because the other hand is occupied with another task or is otherwise unavailable to actuate the keys or other input devices. For example, military personnel such as soldiers may need to hold weapon in one hand, while operating the tablet with the other hand. As another example, emergency responders such as a firefighters and paramedics may need to hold firefighting equipment, medical equipment, or a stretcher with one hand, while operating the tablet with the other hand.
In instances where the user prefers to, or must manipulate the keys or other input devices with the left or right hand, the user may need to rotate the tablet by up to 180° so that the user's left or right hand is located along the side of the tablet proximate the keys. For example, a user may need to remove the tablet from a protective case. If the user does not initially grasp the tablet along the side proximate the keys when reaching into the case, he or she may need to rotate the tablet by up to 180° after removing it from the case in order to properly grasp that side of the tablet. Moreover, it may be difficult or impossible to identify the side of the tablet proximate the keys when operating in darkness and other low or zero-visibility conditions.
The need for the user to rotate the tablet delays the ability of the user to begin using the tablet for its intended purpose. Such delays can potentially lead to adverse consequences under circumstances that may occur, for example, during combat, rescue, and firefighting operations.
Mobile computing devices include a housing, a display mounted on the housing, a processor, and a first array of input devices. The input devices communicate with the processor, and are positioned near a first side of the housing. Each of the input devices operates to generate an output when it is actuated. The processor operates to associate the output of each of the input devices with a function.
The mobile computing devices also include a second array of the input devices. The input devices of the second array communicate with the processor, and are positioned near a second side of the housing. Each of the input devices in the second array operates to generate an output when it is actuated. The second array is substantially identical to the first array. The processor operates to associate the output of each of the input devices in the second array with a function that is the same as the function associated with the input device at the same relative location in the first array. Thus, the functions are activated by the user using either the left or right hand regardless of how the mobile computing device is being held.
In accordance with another aspect of the inventive concepts disclosed herein, mobile computing devices include a housing, a display mounted on the housing, and multiple input devices mounted on the housing. The input devices are arranged in a first array, and in a second array that is substantially identical to the first array. The first and second arrays are positioned on opposite sides of the display. Each of the input devices is operable to generate an output when actuated. The output of each input device corresponds to a function. The mobile computing device is configured so that each of the input devices in the first array is functionally equivalent to a corresponding one of the input devices located at the same relative location the second array.
In accordance with another aspect of the inventive concepts disclosed herein, methods for operating a mobile computing device include providing a functional input to the computing device by actuating a first input device of the computing device located proximate a right side of the computing device using a finger of the right hand while holding the computing device in a first orientation; and providing the same functional input to the computing device by actuating a second input device located proximate a left side on the computing device using a finger of the left hand while holding the computing device in the first orientation.
Embodiments will be described with reference to the following drawing figures, in which like numerals represent like items throughout the figures and in which:
The invention is described with reference to the attached figures. The figures are not drawn to scale and they are provided merely to illustrate the instant invention. Several aspects of the invention are described below with reference to example applications for illustration. It should be understood that numerous specific details, relationships, and methods are set forth to provide a full understanding of the invention. One having ordinary skill in the relevant art, however, will readily recognize that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific details or with other methods. In other instances, well-known structures or operation are not shown in detail to avoid obscuring the invention. The invention is not limited by the illustrated ordering of acts or events, as some acts may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other acts or events. Furthermore, not all illustrated acts or events are required to implement a methodology in accordance with the invention.
The tablet 10 is configured so that the image on the display 14 can be displayed in both a landscape format in which the width of the image is greater than its height as shown in
As shown in
The static memory 20 stores one or more sets of instructions 27, e.g., software code, configured to implement one or more of the methodologies, procedures, or functions described herein. The instructions 27 can include the above-noted graphics driver for controlling the visual output of the display 14. The instructions 27 can also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 19 or the processor 18 during execution thereof by the tablet 10. The main memory 19 and the processor 18 also can constitute machine-readable media.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the computer system architecture illustrated in
The tablet 10 comprises a first and a second array 30, 32 of input devices. The input devices can include pushbuttons or keys 34 and touch-sensitive track pads 35 that facilitate user inputs to the tablet 10. As discussed below, the display 14 of alternative embodiments can be a touch-sensitive screen that further facilitates user inputs. The keys 34 and track pads 35 are communicatively coupled to the processor 18 of the tablet 10 via the bus 21. In alternative embodiments, the first and second arrays 30, 32 can each be a touch-sensitive screen equipped to display graphical function keys and a graphical touchpad equivalent to the physical keys 34 and track pads 35 of the first and second arrays 30, 32.
The keys 34 and track pad 35 in each array 30, 32 are arranged in rows, as depicted in
Each key 34 and track pad 35 is positioned within, and is accessible to the user through an associated opening in the housing 12. The first and second arrays 30, 32 are substantially identical, i.e., the function of each key 34 and track pad 35 at each location in the first array 30 is the same as that of a corresponding key 34 and track pad 35 at the same relative location in the second array 32.
The keys 34 can be any type of pushbutton or key that generates an electrical output in response to being pushed or otherwise actuated. For example, the keys 34 can be mechanical keys, such as rubber dome, membrane, metal contact, or form element keys; or capacitive keys. In alternative embodiments, the display 14 can be a touch-sensitive screen, and graphical function keys and touchpads equivalent to the physical keys 34 and track pads 35 of the first and second arrays 30, 32 can be displayed proximate opposite ends of the touch-sensitive screen. For example,
The processor 18, acting in accordance with the instructions 27, recognizes the input from each particular key 34 as a user input corresponding to the particular function associated with that key 34. The four keys 34 in each of the first and second arrays 30, 32 can correspond respectively to the following functions: enter or return; display refresh; cursor movement sideways; cursor movement upward. Alternative embodiments can include additional keys 34 that facilitate input of additional functions such as home, search, etc. The cursor-movement functions are used to navigate a graphically-displayed cursor around one or more menus shown on the display 14. A particular function displayed on the menu is chosen by pressing the enter button while the cursor is positioned over that function.
Each of the track pads 35 is configured to generate an electrical output representative of the direction in which the user moves her or her finger across the track pad 35. The processor 18, acting in accordance with the instructions 27, recognizes this input from the track pad 35 as corresponding to a user command to move the graphically-displayed cursor in a direction on the display 14 corresponding to the direction in which the user's finger is moving across the track pad 35.
The user can hold the tablet 10 in its landscape orientation with both hands, with one hand located on either side of the housing 12. The tablet 10 can also be held by the user in the landscape orientation with one hand, as depicted in
The first and second arrays 30, 32 are located on opposite sides of the display 14 when the tablet 10 is oriented for viewing in the landscape mode. Each array 30, 32 is positioned proximate an associated side of the housing 12, to permit the user to contact the keys 34 and track pads 35 with the thumb or other finger of the user's left and right hands, according to the user's preference. For example, the keys 34 and track pads 35 are spaced apart from their associated side of the housing 12 by a distance “D” of approximately one inch, as denoted in
Moreover, the user has the option of operating whichever array 30, 32 is located above or below the display 14 when the tablet 10 is oriented for viewing in the portrait orientation. Thus, if the user prefers to operate the tablet 10 in the portrait orientation with the keys 34 and track pads 35 located below or above the display 14, the user can do so without a need to rotate the tablet by 180° or more regardless of the orientation of the tablet 10.
Thus, regardless of the manner in which the user grasps the tablet 10 in the landscape orientation, the user will be able to use whichever hand he or she prefers at that particular time to activate the functions associated with the keys 34 and track pads 35. In other words, the tablet 10 will always be “right-side up” to the user, and the keys 34 and track pad 35 will always be accessible to the user's preferred hand. This feature can potentially reduce the time needed for a user to remove the tablet 10 from a protective case or other storage device and begin viewing the tablet 10, by eliminating the potential need for the user to rotate the tablet 10 by 180° to position the keys 34 and track pad 35 in a manner that facilitates operation thereof with the user's preferred hand. The ability to quickly access and begin operating the tablet 10 can be of the utmost importance during, for example, combat, firefighting, and rescue operations. The ability to operate the tablet 10 in an ambidextrous manner can be particularly beneficial in darkness and under low-visibility conditions where the user cannot clearly see the front face of the tablet 10 as the user is removing the tablet 10 from its stowed condition.
Moreover, the usability of the tablet 10 in darkness and under low-visibility conditions is believed to be enhanced by the positioning of the track pads 35 in the middle of the first and second arrays 30, 32. Positioning the track pads 35 in this manner can provide the user with a tactile indication of the location of the track pads 35, which in turn can provide a reliable non-visual reference to the respective locations of the keys 34 in the associated array 30, 32 since the keys 34 are located symmetrically about their associated track pad 35.
The tablet 10 is advantageously configured so that the buttons 34 in the first and second arrays 30, 32 can be “reprogrammed” by the user to perform secondary functions. In particular, the processor 18, acting in accordance with the instructions 27, can recognize a particular sequence of key strokes or other type of manipulation of a particular key in one of the arrays 30, 32 as an indication that any inputs from the keys 34 of particular array 30, 32 thereafter will correspond to secondary functions, i.e., functions other than the primary functions of return, refresh, cursor sideways, cursor up, home, and search. The secondary functions can include, for example, display black-out, wake up, and power down. The key manipulations that trigger the secondary key functions can be, for example, two or more strokes of a particular key 34 in quick succession, holding down a particular key 34 for a predetermined time period, etc. This feature can facilitate the use of additional keyed functions, while still providing the user with the option to use the tablet 10 in an ambidextrous manner.
