GB2401505A - Mobile communication device with display rotatable between portrait and landscape orientations - Google Patents

Mobile communication device with display rotatable between portrait and landscape orientations Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2401505A
GB2401505A GB0310511A GB0310511A GB2401505A GB 2401505 A GB2401505 A GB 2401505A GB 0310511 A GB0310511 A GB 0310511A GB 0310511 A GB0310511 A GB 0310511A GB 2401505 A GB2401505 A GB 2401505A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
display
rotation
portrait
mobile communication
includes means
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
GB0310511A
Other versions
GB0310511D0 (en
GB2401505B (en
Inventor
Asger Smidth
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Motorola Solutions Inc
Original Assignee
Motorola Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Motorola Inc filed Critical Motorola Inc
Priority to GB0310511A priority Critical patent/GB2401505B/en
Publication of GB0310511D0 publication Critical patent/GB0310511D0/en
Publication of GB2401505A publication Critical patent/GB2401505A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of GB2401505B publication Critical patent/GB2401505B/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Fee Related legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
    • H04M1/02—Constructional features of telephone sets
    • H04M1/0202—Portable telephone sets, e.g. cordless phones, mobile phones or bar type handsets
    • H04M1/0206—Portable telephones comprising a plurality of mechanically joined movable body parts, e.g. hinged housings
    • H04M1/0208—Portable telephones comprising a plurality of mechanically joined movable body parts, e.g. hinged housings characterized by the relative motions of the body parts
    • H04M1/0225—Rotatable telephones, i.e. the body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis perpendicular to the plane they define in closed position
    • H04M1/0233—Including a rotatable display body part
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F1/00—Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
    • G06F1/16—Constructional details or arrangements
    • G06F1/1613—Constructional details or arrangements for portable computers
    • G06F1/1615—Constructional details or arrangements for portable computers with several enclosures having relative motions, each enclosure supporting at least one I/O or computing function
    • G06F1/1616—Constructional details or arrangements for portable computers with several enclosures having relative motions, each enclosure supporting at least one I/O or computing function with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F1/00—Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
    • G06F1/16—Constructional details or arrangements
    • G06F1/1613—Constructional details or arrangements for portable computers
    • G06F1/1615—Constructional details or arrangements for portable computers with several enclosures having relative motions, each enclosure supporting at least one I/O or computing function
    • G06F1/1622—Constructional details or arrangements for portable computers with several enclosures having relative motions, each enclosure supporting at least one I/O or computing function with enclosures rotating around an axis perpendicular to the plane they define or with ball-joint coupling, e.g. PDA with display enclosure orientation changeable between portrait and landscape by rotation with respect to a coplanar body enclosure
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
    • H04M1/02—Constructional features of telephone sets
    • H04M1/0202—Portable telephone sets, e.g. cordless phones, mobile phones or bar type handsets
    • H04M1/0206—Portable telephones comprising a plurality of mechanically joined movable body parts, e.g. hinged housings
    • H04M1/0208—Portable telephones comprising a plurality of mechanically joined movable body parts, e.g. hinged housings characterized by the relative motions of the body parts
    • H04M1/021—Portable telephones comprising a plurality of mechanically joined movable body parts, e.g. hinged housings characterized by the relative motions of the body parts using combined folding and rotation motions
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
    • H04M1/02—Constructional features of telephone sets
    • H04M1/0202—Portable telephone sets, e.g. cordless phones, mobile phones or bar type handsets
    • H04M1/0206—Portable telephones comprising a plurality of mechanically joined movable body parts, e.g. hinged housings
    • H04M1/0241—Portable telephones comprising a plurality of mechanically joined movable body parts, e.g. hinged housings using relative motion of the body parts to change the operational status of the telephone set, e.g. switching on/off, answering incoming call
    • H04M1/0243—Portable telephones comprising a plurality of mechanically joined movable body parts, e.g. hinged housings using relative motion of the body parts to change the operational status of the telephone set, e.g. switching on/off, answering incoming call using the relative angle between housings
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F2200/00—Indexing scheme relating to G06F1/04 - G06F1/32
    • G06F2200/16—Indexing scheme relating to G06F1/16 - G06F1/18
    • G06F2200/161—Indexing scheme relating to constructional details of the monitor
    • G06F2200/1614—Image rotation following screen orientation, e.g. switching from landscape to portrait mode

Abstract

A mobile communication device 110, such as a mobile telephone or PDA, having a display 120 adapted to rotate between portrait and landscape orientations. The display 120 may be attached to the device 110 by a hub 130 enabling rotation of the display 120 by at least 90 degrees about an axis. The rotation of the display 120 may be by manual rotation, or by a release of potential energy obtained from prior rotation, or by a motor. Activation of the rotation mechanism may be by the user or an application running on the device 110. The displayed content may be electronically repositioned and/or reoriented depending upon the physical orientation of the display 120.

Description

: 2401505 Display for mobile communication devices
Technical Field
This invention relates to the displays of mobile communication devices.
Background
Within mobile communications devices, the recent proliferation of services has created a conflict between displays optimised for menus, WAP services, text messaging, etc., and displays for photos, streaming video and games applications. In particular, most mobile communication devices employ a 'Portrait' display wherein the vertical axis is longer than the horizontal (for example, a 3:4 aspect ratio) for normal operations, whilst the common format for video and games is a 'Landscape' style display wherein the horizontal axis is longer than the vertical (for example, a 4:3 aspect ratio).
US20030044000 Al (Motorola) proposes a rotatable keypad, enabling a mobile phone to be used sideways-on in order to allow a portrait aspect ratio screen to be viewed as landscape. However, this requires the user to become accustomed to at least two configurations of keys, and is less suited to asymmetric and more widely distributed key placements.
The purpose of the present invention is to address the above conflict between desired display aspect ratios.
Summary of the Invention
The present invention provides a mobile communications device such as a mobile telephone or PDA, comprising a physically rotateable display, the rotation typically being either manual, operably coupled to an opening mechanism of A: .. ce. le:; Àe.e:e À À G the device, or powered, for example by the existing vibration motor common to many such devices.
By rotating the display about an axis, both aspect ratios are made available without the need to alter other elements of the physical user interface.
In a first aspect, the present invention provides a mobile communication device, as claimed in claim 1.
Further features of the present invention are as claimed in the dependent claims.
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Brief description of the drawings
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a mobile communications device illustrating an embodiment of the present invention comprising a display operable to rotate about an axis between portrait and landscape orientations.
Detailed description of the preferred embodiment
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in Fig. 1, a display 120 is attached to a device 110 by a hub 130, the hub 130 enabling rotation of the display by at least 90 degrees about an axis.
It should be noted that for the purposes of the present invention, the display 120 may also comprise additional A: .e ece. .e ce:e components, such as the display controller, illumination and housing. Where the device 110 has more than one display, it is possible that a second display is part of the same housing.
Supply of power and any information required by the display is provided either by cabling, or power and data tracks on the hub 130 itself or between the fixed surface of the device 110 and the adjacent rotating surface on the back of the display 120.
The hub 130 may be physically part of the display 120 or the device 110, and will typically, although not necessarily, be central relative to the display 120.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the rotation may be coupled to an articulated mechanism of the device 110, for example the hinge in a 'clamshell' design (where the display and keypad are on two separate halves of the device that are hinged together). By articulating the mechanism (in this example, opening the clamshell device) the user also rotates the display, either directly by a physical coupling such that the display 120 rotates to a landscape aspect ratio whenever the device 110 is opened (and rotates back to portrait during closure) or indirectly, for example by storing potential energy that is later released by the user pressing a button on the device to rotate the display 120.
In a second embodiment of the present invention, a motor or actuator within the device lie rotates the display 120. The e:' ctetee. ce.:.
motor or actuator may be dedicated to the purpose, or also be used for vibration call alerts or other functions.
In this embodiment the rotation may be instigated by the user pressing a button, articulating the device 110 or selecting an option within a software menu provided by the device 110. In an enhanced embodiment, the rotation may also be automatically instigated by a software application operating within the device 110.
In a third embodiment of the present invention, rotation is achieved manually.
It is envisaged that the facility for manual rotation may be common to all embodiments.
Additionally common to all embodiments, the device 110 may electronically reposition and/or reorient displayed content depending upon the current physical display 120 orientation.

Claims (8)

  1. c e $ e e se 5 Claims 1. A mobile communication device (100) comprising at
    least a first display (120) adapted to physically rotate about an axis between portrait and landscape display orientations.
  2. 2. A device according to claim 1 that includes means for rotating of said first display by a physical coupling to another means of articulation within the device.
  3. 3. A device according to claim 1 that includes means for rotating of said first display by a release of potential energy obtained from prior rotation of the display or from another means of articulation within the device.
  4. 4. A device according to claim 1 that includes means for rotating of said first display including either i. A dedicated motor; or ii. A motor also providing a 'vibration alert' function for the device.
  5. 5. A device according to claim 4 that includes means for activating rotation of said first display by either or both 2 5 i. The user; or ii. An application running on the device.
  6. 6. A device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the rotation mechanism enables manual rotation of said first display.
    Àette A; ceasÀ
  7. 7. A device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the displayed content of at least the first display is electronically repositioned and/or reoriented by depending upon the physical orientation of said first display.
  8. 8. A device substantially according to claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing. t
GB0310511A 2003-05-08 2003-05-08 Display for mobile communication devices Expired - Fee Related GB2401505B (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB0310511A GB2401505B (en) 2003-05-08 2003-05-08 Display for mobile communication devices

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB0310511A GB2401505B (en) 2003-05-08 2003-05-08 Display for mobile communication devices

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB0310511D0 GB0310511D0 (en) 2003-06-11
GB2401505A true GB2401505A (en) 2004-11-10
GB2401505B GB2401505B (en) 2005-09-21

Family

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB0310511A Expired - Fee Related GB2401505B (en) 2003-05-08 2003-05-08 Display for mobile communication devices

Country Status (1)

Country Link
GB (1) GB2401505B (en)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2432688A (en) * 2005-11-28 2007-05-30 Peter Willett Laptop Display Reorientation System

Citations (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2315186A (en) * 1996-07-10 1998-01-21 Motorola Inc Communication device whose mode of operation is controlled by position of detachable and rotatable housing
GB2351201A (en) * 1996-07-10 2000-12-20 Motorola Inc Communication device with rotatable housings
JP2001156893A (en) * 1999-11-29 2001-06-08 Nec Saitama Ltd Display system and its method for communication apparatus
EP1207671A2 (en) * 2000-11-20 2002-05-22 Nec Corporation Opening/closing structure for a portable information terminal
JP2002314652A (en) * 2001-04-16 2002-10-25 Kyocera Corp Portable communication terminal
WO2002100076A1 (en) * 2001-05-31 2002-12-12 Nippon Tojix Co., Ltd. Cellular telephone
EP1271897A2 (en) * 2001-06-25 2003-01-02 Pioneer Corporation Portable information terminal
US20030013417A1 (en) * 2001-06-22 2003-01-16 Impactra Co., Ltd. Mobile terminal for changing position of display unit in horizontal or vertical direction
WO2003019911A1 (en) * 2001-07-19 2003-03-06 Zhanxin Zhu A kind of mobile telephone having rotation display screen

Patent Citations (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2315186A (en) * 1996-07-10 1998-01-21 Motorola Inc Communication device whose mode of operation is controlled by position of detachable and rotatable housing
GB2351201A (en) * 1996-07-10 2000-12-20 Motorola Inc Communication device with rotatable housings
JP2001156893A (en) * 1999-11-29 2001-06-08 Nec Saitama Ltd Display system and its method for communication apparatus
EP1207671A2 (en) * 2000-11-20 2002-05-22 Nec Corporation Opening/closing structure for a portable information terminal
JP2002314652A (en) * 2001-04-16 2002-10-25 Kyocera Corp Portable communication terminal
WO2002100076A1 (en) * 2001-05-31 2002-12-12 Nippon Tojix Co., Ltd. Cellular telephone
US20030013417A1 (en) * 2001-06-22 2003-01-16 Impactra Co., Ltd. Mobile terminal for changing position of display unit in horizontal or vertical direction
EP1271897A2 (en) * 2001-06-25 2003-01-02 Pioneer Corporation Portable information terminal
WO2003019911A1 (en) * 2001-07-19 2003-03-06 Zhanxin Zhu A kind of mobile telephone having rotation display screen

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2432688A (en) * 2005-11-28 2007-05-30 Peter Willett Laptop Display Reorientation System

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB0310511D0 (en) 2003-06-11
GB2401505B (en) 2005-09-21

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PCNP Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee

Effective date: 20120508