A palm-sized handheld device includes a body casing having a top end and a bottom end. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the device also includes a display screen proximately disposed near the bottom end of the device, and a plurality of input keys proximately disposed near said top end of the device above the input display screen.
As a result of such a configuration, accessibility to the input keys by users+ thumbs is improved while glare from a bright light source on the display screen may be decreased.
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8. A personal digital assistant comprising:
an upper body portion having an outer top end, an inner bottom end and a plurality of input keys disposed between said outer top end and said inner bottom end; and
a lower body portion having an inner top end, an outer bottom end, and a display screen disposed between said inner top end and said outer bottom end, wherein said lower body portion is attached at said inner top end to said upper body portion at said inner bottom end.
0. 16. A portable electronic device comprising:
a body casing having a top end, a bottom end, a left side, and a right side;
a first plurality of input keys of a keypad proximately disposed near said left side of said body casing, in a first ergonomic concentric arrangement; and
a second plurality of input keys of said keypad proximately disposed near said right side of said body casing, in a second ergonomic concentric arrangement different from said first ergonomic concentric arrangement.
2. A personal digital assistant comprising:
a body casing having a top end and a bottom end;
a display screen having a top edge, a bottom edge, a left side, a right side, and proximately disposed near said bottom end of said body casing;
a first plurality of input keys of a qwerty keypad proximately disposed above said top edge of said display screen, near said top end of said body casing and said left side of said input display screen, in a first ergonomic concentric arrangement; and
a second plurality of input keys of said qwerty keypad proximately disposed above said top edge of said display screen, near said top end of said body casing and said right side of said input display screen, in a second ergonomic concentric arrangement.
0. 12. A portable electronic device comprising:
a palm-sized body casing having a top end, a bottom end, a left side, and a right side;
a first plurality of input keys of a keypad proximately disposed on said body casing near said left side of said body casing, in a static ergonomic configuration, forming one or more rows, with each row having an angle that measures approximately 45 degrees or less with respect to said top or bottom end of said body casing; and
a second plurality of input keys of said keypad proximately disposed on said body casing near said right side of said body casing, in a static ergonomic configuration, forming one or more rows, with each row having an angle that measures approximately 45 degrees or less with respect to said top or bottom end of said body casing.
11. A wireless pager comprising:
a body casing having a top end and a bottom end;
at least one input key proximately disposed near said top end; and a display screen proximately disposed near said bottom end below said at least one input key, wherein said body casing further comprises a left side to the left of said display screen between said top end and said bottom end, and a right side opposite said left side and to the right of said display screen between said top end and said bottom end, and said at least one input key further comprises a first set of keys and a second set of keys, wherein said first set of keys are further situated near said left side of said body casing to facilitate ergonomic access by a left thumb and said second set of keys are situated near said right side of said body casing to facilitate ergonomic access by a right thumb.
3. A personal digital assistant comprising:
a body casing having a top end and a bottom end;
a display screen proximately disposed near said bottom end;
a plurality of input keys of a qwerty paypad keypad proximately disposed near said top end above said input display screen, wherein said body casing further comprises a left side to the left of said display screen between said top end and said bottom end, and a right side opposite said left side and to the right of said display screen between said top end and said bottom end, and said plurality of input keys comprises a first set of keys and a second set of keys, wherein said first set of keys are further situated near said left side of said body casing to facilitate ergonomic access by a left thumb and said second set of keys are situated near said right side of said body casing to facilitate ergonomic access by a right thumb.
1. A personal digital assistant comprising:
a body casing having a top end and a bottom end;
a display screen having a top edge, a bottom edge, a left side, a right side, and proximately disposed near said bottom end of the body casing;
a first plurality of input keys of a qwerty keypad proximately disposed above said top edge of said input display screen, near said top end of the body casing and said left side of said input display screen, in an ergonomically rotated manner ergonomic configuration, forming an angle that measures approximately 45 degrees with respect to said top edge of said display screen; and
a second plurality of input keys of the qwerty keypad proximately disposed above said top edge of said input display screen, near said top end of the body casing and said right side of said input display screen, in an ergonomically rotated manner ergonomic configuration, forming an angle that measures approximately 45 degrees with respect to said top edge of said display screen.
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0. 13. The portable electronic device of
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of handheld digital devices. More specifically, the present invention relates to the placement of data entry keys with respect to the display within each of these devices.
2. Background Information
Advances in computer and telecommunication technology have led to the wide spread adoption and miniaturization of electronic organization and communication devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) and wireless pagers. Although smaller versions of such devices allow increased portability, the reduction in size is typically accompanied by awkward keypad positioning thereby hindering one's ease of use and possibility causing discomfort to the user.
PDA 100 further includes display screen 108, which is disposed near top end 118A above keypad 102, and is used to echo numeric or alphanumeric inputs entered by a user, as well as to display various graphical and/or alphanumeric messages, menu options, control information, status information, and so forth. For example, display screen 108 is illustrated as displaying graphical icons 110-114, and date and time information 104.
Although the physical size of body casing 116 may vary, PDA 100 is typically palm-sized so as to fit within the palm of an average user's hand. During normal use, by virtue of its configuration with keypad 102 disposed near bottom end 118B and display screen 108 disposed near top end 118A above keypad 102, a user will typically rest body casing 116 on one or both of their index fingers formed into an arch with at least one of the user's thumbs being utilized to pinch PDA 100 against the arched forefinger(s), thus leaving only one of the users thumb free to enter and/or manipulate data via keypad 102. Accordingly, the user typically severely arches their thumbs into an inconvenient and uncomfortable position in order to operate PDA 100, thereby exposing the user to possible discomfort. Furthermore, due to keypad 102 being disposed below display screen 108, display screen 108 is rendered vulnerable to bright light sources such as the sun. In situations where display screen 108 represents a backlit display for example, such bright light shone on display screen 108 can severely interfere with the users viewing of information displayed within display screen 108.
Therefore, a more user-friendly design, in particular, one that improves thumb manipulability of the keypad is desired.
A palm-sized handheld device includes a body casing having a top end and a bottom end. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the device also includes a display screen proximately disposed near the bottom end of the device, and a plurality of input keys proximately disposed near said top end of the device above the input display screen.
As a result of such a configuration, accessibility to the input keys by users' thumbs is improved while glare from a bright light source on the display screen may be decreased.
The present invention will be described by way of exemplary embodiments, but not limitations, illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like references denote similar elements, and in which:
In the following description, various aspects of the present invention will be described. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced with only some or all aspects of the present invention. For purposes of explanation, specific numbers, materials and configurations are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will also be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without the specific details. In other instances, well known features are omitted or simplified in order not to obscure the present invention. The phrase “in one embodiment” will be used repeatedly, however the phrase does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although it may.
Referring now to
Note that top end 218A and bottom end 218B (as well as top edge 208B and bottom edge 208A of display screen 208) are objectively determined. A device such as PDA 200 having display screen 208 necessarily has a display orientation. For example, textual data are either rendered from left to right and top to bottom, as denoted by arrows 220A and 220B respectively, as in the case of the English language, or right to left and top to bottom, as denoted by arrows 222A and 222B respectively, as in the case of the Hebrew language, or top to bottom and right to left, as denoted by arrows 224A and 224B respectively, as in the case of the Chinese language. Thus the manner in which textual data are rendered defines which end is the top end, and which end is the bottom end of PDA 200. Accordingly, an element X of PDA 200, is necessarily above element Y of PDA 200 and element Y is necessarily below element X, if element X is closer to the objectively determinable top end of PDA 200 or if element Y is closer to the objectively determinable bottom end of PDA 200.
As illustrated, display screen 208 represents a broad category of display screens, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), to display text and/or graphical information such as status information and input and output data the user may be interested in viewing. For example, display screen 208 includes date and time display 204 designed to inform a user of the current date and time, as well as graphical icons 210-214 designed to provide a user with expedited access to a variety of operating functions that PDA 200 may be equipped to perform.
Depending upon the particular implementation, PDA 200 may be equipped to provide services including but not limited to electronic mail services, text editing services, file storage services, and calendaring services. For example, mail icon 210 may represent an electronic mail function, which when selected, provides a user with the ability to transmit and/or receive electronic messages. Similarly, edit icon 211 may represent a text editing function, which when selected, provides a user with the ability to create and/or edit simple text messages. Likewise, calendar icon 214 may represent various calendaring functions available to a user. These and other functions described in the context of PDA 200 are intended to be merely illustrative and should not be read as limiting the present invention. Accordingly, PDA 200 may represent a wide variety of devices that provide a similarly wide variety of functionalities. For example, PDA 200 may be implemented as a multi-function personal digital assistant, or as a dedicated personal paging device, provided that one or more data input keys and/or devices are disposed above display screen 208. In one embodiment, PDA 200 is approximately 3.5 inches in length measured from left side 219A to right side 219B, and 2.5 inches in width measured from top end 218A to bottom end 218B.
Body casing 216 further includes finger mouse 205 as well as left mouse button 203A and right mouse button 203B. In one embodiment finger mouse 205 is ergonomically disposed near top end 218A so as to correspond to the natural arch of a user's index finger when naturally grasping a device such as PDA 200. In
Referring now to
In addition to facilitating ergonomic use of PDA 200, the novel arrangement of display screen 208 below left key set 202A and right key set 202B further provides a user with the ability to shield display screen 208 from glare caused by light source 330 without hindering use of PDA 200. For example, when PDA 200 is grasped in a natural and comfortable manner such as is illustrated in
Thus, a palm-sized hendheld device having an ergonomic inverted keyboard has been disclosed. In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes can be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.
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