BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings,
FIG. 1 illustrates a top view of a mobile phone according to one preferred embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 2 illustrates a top view of a keypad design according to one preferred embodiment of this invention; and
FIG. 3 illustrates an exploded view of a keypad design according to one preferred embodiment of this invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.
FIG. 1 illustrates a top view of a mobile phone according to one preferred embodiment of this invention. A big size screen 104 on the mobile phone 100 leads to a small keypad 110. To ensure individual key in the keypad 110 to occupy sufficient area for user operation, all number keys (keys entitled 0-9), other function keys (such as “OK” or “menu”) and a joystick 112 are grouped together.
FIG. 2 illustrates a top view of a keypad design according to one preferred embodiment of this invention. This preferred embodiment includes 20 keys 114 and a joystick 112. Keys 114 might include number keys (keys entitled 0-9) and/or other function keys (such as “OK” or “menu”). Although 20 keys of this preferred embodiment are arranged by 4 rows and 5 columns, the number of keys is not limited to 20, arranged by 4 rows and 5 columns. In this preferred embodiment, the joystick 112 is disposed between two neighboring keypads, which are in column 3, row 1 and row 2. In other preferred embodiments, the joystick 112 is disposed between any two neighboring (number) keys, or disposed between keys located in row 1 and row 2, or disposed between any two or multiple neighboring keys in the keypad. Basically, the joystick 112 is preferably disposed in a central section of the keypad for convenient operation. When the joystick is tilted, i.e. pushed by the user, a corresponding signal is output. The row or column sequence (1-4 or 1-5) is for clearly describing the key arrangement, other sequences (i.e., 1-5 is from right to left or 1-4 is from bottom to top) are also suitable, and row or column can be swapped.
FIG. 3 illustrates an exploded view of a keypad design according to one preferred embodiment of this invention. In this preferred embodiment, a joystick occupying small area is preferably selected so as to fit between two neighboring keys. Each of the keys surrounding the joystick 112 has a semi-circular cutout (or an arc-shaped cutout) 116a/116b to accommodate the joystick 112. Besides, the base 108 under the keypad design may also require some modifications, i.e. assembly holes 114a along the column of the joystick base 112a might require smaller area than other assembly holes. When the keypad design 110a and the base 108 are assembled, a mobile phone as illustrated in FIG. 1 is formed.
According preferred embodiments of the present invention, when the keypad design of present invention is applied to a compact mobile phone, each individual key still occupies area sufficient for users to operate easily.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.
Patent Application
20070275771
