The present invention generally relates to communication devices, and more particularly, relates to personal communication devices including built-in projection displays.
A significant market is under development for compact communication devices combining cellular (or other wireless) telephones with a limited-function computer. An early example of this class of devices being called “personal communicators” is the IBM/Bell-South “SIMON.” In its present form, the SIMON adds a relatively small computer (8086-class, moving to 80386-class), plus a backlit, touch-sensitive display to a cellular telephone. This combination of computer, wireless communication, and enabling software creates a powerful productivity tool, which allows a single device to provide wireless telephony functions, personal information management (e.g., electronic calendar and address/phone number listings), as well as two-way wireless transfer of digital data.
Some of the limitations of these devices have heretofore included the difficulty of viewing the data display while communicating over the phone, the weight and fragility of the relatively large LCD display, the relatively high power required for the back-lit monochrome display, and the even higher cost and power to provide a color display. Further limitations have also included size and human-factor design issues, the ability of the user to manipulate a device with minimal effort, and the preference of a user for easily viewing a display akin to that a user may be accustomed to in a typical office environment. Additionally, users may have difficulty adapting to viewing a display that is substantially smaller than the view they may be accustomed to from their fixed desktop display units.
Furthermore, the touch- and stylus-based user interfaces generally require two hands to operate and preclude the simultaneous use of the phone handset and the computer functions, except in a speaker-phone mode where the user would have to speak to the unit while holding it in front of him. While speech-based operation will be added to these devices in the future, a practical speech-based user interface still requires the user to see a display during use, since the user needs to see the set of allowable selections (the menu items), while for dictation mode, the user would like to see the progress of the speech-to-text translation.
As an alternative to SIMON-like designs that make it difficult to utilize the phone handset in the normal, private (non-speaker-phone) mode while also viewing the display, it has been suggested that the personal communicator should be fashioned like a pair of glasses or goggles, with a view-finder “projection” display and a speaker and microphone all built into the “frames” of the headset. While this interaction paradigm may eventually become common and widely accepted (probably by today's video-game generation), it is not as natural or convenient for the user who frequently needs to make a quick phone call or needs to just briefly check some e-mail. Similarly, such a design does not achieve the nimbleness or convenience often desired in a professional environment, be it mobile or fixed.
Another possible alternative is to make a SIMON-like device where the display ran be detached from the unit and held in the front of the user by the hand opposite the one holding the phone. An infrared or other wireless link between the phone and the display would allow data coming over the main handset to be relayed to the display. Although this design does allow simultaneous viewing/talking, it requires two hands for simple operation and makes pointing or selecting an item from the display a difficult (possibly three-handed) operation.
Therefore, a need exists for a personal communication device with both a direct-view display on the device and a projection display view orientation permitting the user to view the device's display as though the display were a “full screen” display.
The present invention is a device having a direct-view display on a personal communication device and a projection display view orientation permitting the user to view the device's display as though it were a “full screen” display. The present invention may be nimbly-sized to be flexible to accommodate unique user demands in an environment where the user is mobile or fixed, such that the user is required to exert minimal effort, without necessitating the use of two hands, to operate and communicate using the device.
One aspect of the present invention device is that the device comprises a single high resolution display, where such display can be used both as a high-resolution direct-view display on the phone and also as a “full-screen” projection display. When operating the present invention, a user may position the phone into a specific mode, such as the “projection display” orientation, whereupon the user's view of the display of the phone appears to be greater than that of the actual display size of the phone. For instance, the high-resolution display and the flip-out mirror, when positioned as such create the optical equivalent of a full-size notebook display at normal reading distance. This dual usage of a single high-resolution display is presented without limitation in the figures herein.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention.
For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth such as specific display technologies, etc., to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without such specific details.
Refer now to the drawings wherein depicted elements are not necessarily shown to scale and wherein like or similar elements are designated by the same reference numeral through the several views.
This application incorporates by reference U.S. Pat. No. 5,970,418, which discloses a personal communication device including both audio and a display.
Other input means could be utilized instead of, or in addition to, touch-pad 104, such as some type of button to operate by a user to move a cursor on display 102. In this mode, device 101 can be utilized by a user as a personal digital assistant, calculator, address book, etc., or could even be utilized as a wireless telephone where a speaker-phone configuration is used to permit the user to converse with another party.
In
In
As in
In
In an “Open/Projection-View” mode (see
In
In
From each of the Figures, the present invention allows the phone device 101 to be nimbly-sized and extremely thin when in a closed mode, such that the display 102 remains in an easily viewable location when closed. Additionally, in the projection viewing orientation, a second orientation configuration is positioned wherein the display 102 rotates approximately 90 degrees for use in projection mode, as illustrated in
Software for flipping the displayed image 90 degrees is well known in the art. As depicted in the various figures, the present invention is shown to be operative in three different modes: a) Closed/Direct-View, b) Open/Direct-View, and c) Open/Projection-View, although other modes are envisioned.
Key attributes of the present invention include but are not limited to following:
1) the present invention incorporates a single display for both direct-viewing mode and projection-viewing mode;
2) the present invention provides convenient direct-viewing access in two different configurations—with the “lid” closed or open;
3) the present invention provides for a much thinner package through the use of a pivoting or rotating display which lays flat in direct-viewing modes but which rotates significantly for projection-viewing mode; and
4) the present invention provides a single touch-pad which can be comfortably accessed in all 3 operating modes (although different coordinate “transformations” are required to compensate for the change in orientation of the touch-pad relative to the display image), and regardless of whether the phone is being held by the right hand or the left hand.
Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
This present application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/251,202 filed Dec. 4, 2000.
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