FR2797137A1 - PORTABLE ELECTRONIC APPARATUS HAVING POINTING DEVICE - Google Patents

Abstract

Portable electronic device comprising a pointing device. A portable electronic device (201) is provided with a pointing device (210). This pointing device may be a screen or a touch pad, a maneuvering ball or other compact device. The pointing device is preferably located on the back of a removable housing (203) of the portable device. Thus there is no modification to be made to the body of the portable device. The pointing device can be used with a screen of the portable device, or with another device to which the telephone is connected.

Description

Portable electronic device comprising a pointing device La

  The present invention relates to a portable electronic device comprising a pointing device. The field of the invention is notably that of mobile telephony if the portable electronic device is a mobile telephone. This area also extends to areas adjoining remote communications between two devices. That is to say to two devices which are not connected by a wire. The field of the invention includes all the fields in which portable electronic devices are used, by a human being, and provided with a screen. The object of the invention is to increase the ergonomics of portable electronic devices, while

increasing their possibilities.

  In the prior art there is known a mobile telephone comprising a screen and a pointing device, both on a front face. A pointing device makes it possible to highlight a certain area of the screen of a mobile phone. The known pointing device, for a mobile phone, consists of two buttons. Thus, we pass from one zone of the screen to the other, sequentially, by successive presses on one or the other of the buttons. Once the area of interest has been selected, it is validated by pressing a third button, which involves the implementation by the mobile phone of a process. This device is not satisfactory because it involves, in order to reach an area, the sequential course of all the areas of the screen. This is annoying because the screens of mobile phones are getting larger and larger, and therefore have more and more areas to browse. The number of presses on the keys of the pointing device therefore increases, which reduces its

lifetime.

  In addition, such a device involves the presence of three keys to implement it. These three keys take up space on the front of the phone. Their presence therefore harms an increase in screen size, while maintaining reasonable overall dimensions for the mobile phone. Indeed it is interesting to have a large screen because it allows to present more information or to present it

in a more pleasant way.

  The invention solves these problems by placing a pointing device on the back of the mobile phone. This pointing device can be of the type of an area sensitive to heat, or capacitive or resistive, as found on portable computers. Then the stresses of this sensitive area are displayed on the screen of the mobile phone by the movement of a graphic pointer. This graphic pointer is used to designate a certain area of the screen. The validation of the zone is done either by a key

  on the mobile phone keypad, either by the pointing device itself.

  In this case the latter comprises means for detecting a pressure for example. This frees the keys used for the pointing device on standard mobile phones. You can assign new functions to them or simply delete them to increase the surface area.

display of the screen.

  Advantageously, the pointing device can be placed on the box containing the battery. The pointing device can, in another embodiment, be placed in a removable module, for example an auxiliary storage memory. We then connect the pointing device to a bus

  also connected to the microprocessor of the mobile phone so that it

  it can take into account the different actions performed on the pointing device. Thus the mobile phone case remains unchanged. There can also be several types of pointing devices for the same housing corresponding to specific pointing needs and

  suitable for a particular function.

  The subject of the invention is therefore a portable electronic device comprising a screen on a front face, characterized in that it comprises a pointing device on a rear face, and means for moving a graphic pointer on the screen of the device. based on an action on the

pointing device.

  The invention will be better understood on reading the description which follows

  and examining the accompanying figures. These are presented for information only and in no way limit the invention. The figures show: - Figure 1: an illustration of the front and rear faces of a mobile phone according to the invention; - Figure 2: an illustration of different methods to allow the microprocessor of a mobile phone to take into account the pointing device; - Figure 2b: an illustration of a connection between a microprocessor of a mobile phone and a pointing device via a SIM card; - Figure 3: an illustration of the means of taking into account the pointing device; an illustration of a use of an apparatus according to the invention. In an example we choose to treat the case of a mobile phone, but it could just as easily be a personal electronic assistant

  (PDA), or an electronic agenda.

  FIG. 1 shows a telephone 101 comprising on a front face

  a speaker 102, a microphone 103, a keyboard 104 and a screen 105.

  The screen is a general type of liquid crystal display (LCD). When the pointing device is activated, a pointer 106 is displayed on the screen. A pointer must be understood as a means of highlighting an area of

  the screen 105. In the example of FIG. 1, the pointer 106 is an arrow.

  But the pointer could take any other form. In particular if one places oneself in the case of browsing a menu, the pointer could simply be a video inversion of the different choices offered by the menu as a function of the demands of a pointing device by the user. If we consider a menu where the choices are written in black on a white background, making a video inversion of one of the menu items consists in writing this item in white on a black background. So this is also a way of highlighting a

screen area.

  FIG. 1 also shows the rear face 107 of the telephone 101. There are two rear faces shown. A rear face 107a comprises a battery 108 and a pointing device 109. In this case, the device 109 is of the tactile pad type, or such as. The device 109 is then sensitive to the movement of a finger on its surface. If we consider that the telephone 101 is placed front face in front of us, then a movement of the finger on the device 109 will be visualized on the screen by a movement of the pointer 106. If in relation to the user the finger moves towards up, the pointer will move up, if the finger moves to the right, the pointer will move to the right, and so on. The pointing device is located opposite the screen 106 on the rear face. This allows very

natural device 109.

  In general, touch pads are of the heat sensitive type.

  The passage of a finger on its surface will modify the conductivity of elements located under its surface. These elements constitute a wired grid which makes it possible to determine in which direction the finger is moving. In addition the

  device 109 is pressure sensitive, thanks to a pressure sensor.

  In other words, the user can press it to validate the area of the screen he has selected. This support will result in the implementation by a microprocessor of the mobile telephone, of a program corresponding to the

user will.

  The device 109 is, in a preferred embodiment, located so as to be centered on the screen area. This gives the user of a telephone according to the invention the impression that his finger is moving directly on

  the back of the screen and thus facilitates the use of the pointing device 109.

  A rear face 107b comprises a battery 110 and a pointing device 111 composed of two sensitive zones 112 and 113. Zone 112 is accessible by the index, zone 113 is accessible by the middle finger. In one example, the zone 112 is used for horizontal displacements and the zone 113 for vertical displacements. However, the role of these zones can very well be reversed. The zones 112 and 113 are themselves divided into two zones. If the mobile phone 101 is held face-up in front of you, the zone 112 comprises a zone 112D situated to the right and a zone 112G situated to the left of the observer. Zone 113 comprises a zone 113 H situated on the right and a zone 113B situated on the left. However in the case of zone 113, useful for vertical displacements, the two zones 113H and 113B can be reversed in their position. With this device 111, when the user requests the area 112D, the cursor will move to the right, the area 112G the cursor will move to the left, the area 113H the cursor will move

  move up and the area 113B the cursor will move down.

  The validation of the selected zone is then done via a key on the keyboard 104. The sensitive zones 112 and 113 are produced using technologies

touch screen.

  FIG. 2 shows a mobile telephone 201 comprising on its rear face, that where there is no screen, a cavity 202 intended to receive a battery 203. The cavity 202 of the telephone 201 comprises a slot 204 for a SIM card . The battery 203 can also include pins 205 whose role is to establish contact between the battery 203 and the SIM card. For

  its attachment to the battery 203 comprises a lug 206 and a push button 208.

  To put the battery 203 in place, the lug 206 is positioned in a slot 207 provided for this purpose in the cavity 202, then the button is actuated

  pusher 208 so that it comes to position itself in a slot 209.

  Provided for this purpose in the cavity 202. If we consider that the battery 203 has the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped then the lug 206 and the push button 208 are located on the smallest faces of this parallelepiped,

  corresponding to the top and bottom of the mobile phone.

  The battery 203 also includes a pointing device 210. This pointing device can be produced as previously described for FIG. 1, but it can also be a maneuvering ball. An operating ball comprises a ball enclosed in a receptacle comprising sensors which make it possible to measure the movements of the ball. The only movements that are allowed for the ball are rotational movements around any axis passing through its center. In another embodiment, the pointing device 210 may be a pointing stick. In other words, a rod that can be moved like the handle of an airplane, around a position of equilibrium. The deviations of the handle from this equilibrium position indicate in which direction a cursor will move on the screen. The handle is then protected by a preponderance, or projection, of the case which comprises it. This preponderance prevents the handle from being used unintentionally or

  deteriorate when handling the telephone according to the invention.

  There are several ways to connect the device 210 to a microprocessor 211 of the telephone 201. The first solution consists in connecting the device 210 to a port 213 via a bus 212. The port 213 is fixed on the battery, on the same face as the device 210. This port 213 is then connected to a port 214 of the mobile phone 201. To do this, use a cable 215. The port 214 is standard on all mobile phones. It makes it possible to connect mobile phones to various existing peripherals, in particular to a computer for example. When this solution is chosen, port 213 is double so that you can continue to connect the mobile phone to other devices. We note that in order to be able to connect the mobile phone to other peripherals, we can also provide that it is the cable that can

  be, at one of its ends connected to another device.

  A second solution consists in implanting a connector in the lug 206 and in the slot 207. Each element, 206 and 207, comprises a part of the connector. The part of the connector corresponding to the lug 206 is connected to the pointing device 210 by a bus. The part of the connector corresponding to the slot 207 is connected to the microprocessor 211 by a bus. Once the battery in place in the cavity 202, the device 210 is connected to the microprocessor 211. This solution is more elegant

  since it does not require any external appendix to the telephone 201.

  A third solution is to provide the cavity 202 with retractable pins 216. The SIM card is itself connected by a bus 218 to the microprocessor 211. The pins 216 are connected by a bus 217 to the SIM card 204, more specifically to the bus 218 connecting the SIM card and the microprocessor 211. The battery is then provided 203 of a plate 219 located opposite, once the battery in place in the mobile phone, pins 216. The plate 219 has contacts, each contact corresponding to a pin. The plate 219 and its contacts are connected to the pointing device 210 via the bus 212. Thus when the battery is in place, the pins 216 are retracted and ensure contact with the plate 219, the microprocessor 211 is therefore able , via a program contained in the memory 220 with which it is connected via a bus 221, to take into account the actions carried out on the device 210. To make this device possible, a double-sided SIM card is used. Figure 2b shows the SIM card 204 which has a contact area 222. The zone 222, once the card 204 is in place in the telephone 201, ensures contact between the card 204 and pins 223. These pins 223 are connected to the bus 218. The elements 222, 223 and 218 therefore serve to ensure the connection between the microprocessor 220 and the card 204. The area 222 is included on the face of the card 204 which faces the pins 223. On the other

  face of the card 204 there is a zone 224 which is the image of the zone 222.

  This means that for each contact in zone 222 there corresponds a contact in zone 224, so it can be said that zones 222 and 224 are connected by a bus 225. Zone 224 is in turn connected to bus 207. In an alternative embodiment, the plate 219 has pins which come directly into contact with the zone 224. This embodiment dispenses with the bus 207

and pins 216.

  This solution is interesting because it allows a simple realization of the device 210. In fact there are transparent films sensitive to touch. These films have wires so that the analog signals they deliver can be taken into account. It is therefore possible, in order to produce the device 210, to stick such a film on the rear face of the battery, a

  branching of this film comprising the wires is in contact with the plate 219.

  Thus, the installation of the device 210 is done without major modification of the battery 203, except for an electrical interface between the signals delivered.

  by the film and signal processing circuits produced by the film.

  Of course, only one of the three devices described is necessary to ensure communication between the device 210 and the microprocessor 211. It

there may also be others.

  FIG. 3 shows the microprocessor 211, the memory 220, the pointing device 210, a keyboard 301 and a screen 302, the elements 301, 302, 210, 211 and 220 are connected together by the bus 221. In the example in FIG. 3, the device 210 is of the heat-sensitive touch pad type. The screen 302 shows various buttons 303. A button is an area of the screen, the dimension of which is smaller than the screen and which

  contains a symbol, or text, schematically, or indicating, a function.

  If there are several buttons on the same screen, in general the buttons do not overlap. The screen 302 also shows a pointer 304. A user will move a finger 305 on the surface of the device 210 in a direction 306. The microprocessor 211 retrieves data relating to this movement via the bus 221. This data is processed by the microprocessor 211 which is controlled by a program contained in the memory 220. This program then moves the cursor 304 on the screen 302

as a function of movement 306.

  In the present case, once the processing has been carried out, the display of the screen 302 becomes the display 302b. The 306 movement being a movement

  amount, the cursor, relative to its position in screen 302 is located

  above. The pointer display 304b overlaps with the display of a button. The user can now decide to press the device 210, or one of the buttons on the keyboard 301. In doing so, he will send information to the microprocessor 211 which knows the position of the pointer and the buttons on the screen. Depending on the position of the pointer, the

  microprocessor will execute a program contained in memory 220.

  Setting up a pointing device on a mobile phone

  transforms this mobile phone into a pointing device itself

  even. Indeed, a mobile phone contains all the means necessary for establishing a secure remote link. We can therefore very well, with such a mobile phone, consider an application where we would have a large screen 402 connected wirelessly, or wired

403, on the 401 mobile phone.

  FIG. 4 shows that the screen 402 comprises a port 404 for connection with the telephone 401. In the example in FIG. 4 the connection is wired, but it could be wireless. The screen 402 also includes a microprocessor 405, a memory 406 and a circuit 407 interfacing with a device 410 for displaying the screen 402. The elements 404 to 408 are connected by a bus 408. The microprocessor 405, controlled by a program contained in the memory 406, reads information present on the port 404 and formats it before transmitting it to the circuit 407 which provides the interface between the data to be displayed and the display device 410. The information read by the microprocessor is data to be displayed, but also data relating to the movement of a cursor 411. The device 410 may be a cathode ray tube or any other equivalent means such as a plasma screen or a liquid crystal screen. The circuit 407 then transforms the digital data sent to it into analog data

  suitable for being displayed on the device 410.

  The mobile phone 401 is itself connected, for example to the Internet network, via a base station 409, and the data it receives are displayed on the large screen. We then use the pointing device that the mobile phone has to point to the large screen. To display on the large screen, it is sufficient to transmit to this screen, the data corresponding to the content of a page such as can be found on the Internet, i.e. code HTML for example (Hyper Text Markup Language, ie language for hyper text link editing). When the telephone pointing device 401 is pressed, the cursor 411 moves on the device 410. The pointing device is not visible because it is located on the back of the phone 401

  shown from the front in Figure 4.

  In this example, the mobile phone therefore serves as a modem and pointing device. The screen 402 can be seen as a television set endowed with certain computer capacities, such as the management of a pointing device and the interpretation of HTML code.

Claims (10)

  1 - Portable electronic device (101) comprising a screen (105) on a front face characterized in that it comprises a device (109, 111) for pointing on a rear face (107A, 107B), and means (211 220 , 221) to move a graphic pointer (106, 304) on the screen of the device by   function of an action (306) on the pointing device.   2 - Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the device   pointing device is located on a housing (203) removable from the device.   3 - Apparatus according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that   that the pointing device consists of two zones (112, 113), one accessible by the index finger the other by the middle finger, corresponding to   horizontal and vertical pointer movements.   4 - Apparatus according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that   that the pointing device comprises means (306) for detecting a   pressure from the user.   - Apparatus according to one of claims 1 4, characterized in that   the pointing device is a motion detector (306) sensitive to the temperature or touch.   6 - Apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that the area covered by the detector on the rear face is centered on the covered area by the screen on the front panel.   7 - Apparatus according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that   that it has a keyboard and that a button on this keyboard allows, when pressed, to trigger an action depending on the position of the pointer on the device screen.   8 - Apparatus according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that   the pointing device is a computer mouse type ball, or manceuvre ball.   9 - Apparatus according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that   that the pointing device is a pointing stick.   - Apparatus according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that   that the device is a cell phone.   11 - Apparatus according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in   that the device is an electronic personal assistant.   12 - Use of an apparatus (401) according to one of claims 1 to   11 characterized in that - the portable electronic device is connected to a second device (402) comprising a screen and requiring, for an application, a device pointing.