JP2001189779A - Telephone set and data inputting method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To miniaturize a telephone set without damaging operability. SOLUTION: An opening part is installed at the base of a telephone set main body. A key pad housing where a key pad is arranged is held by the telephone set main body so that it can freely slide and is inserted into the opening part. When the operation of the key pad is required, a key pad housing is pulled out from the opening part and is operated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a telephone and a method for inputting data to the telephone.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Early cellular telephones had large housings to accommodate large, heavy batteries and large electronic circuit boards. In recent years, the technology related to the cellular telephone has advanced, and the housing of the cellular telephone has been gradually reduced in size. Circuits required for processing a cellular phone can be integrated on a semiconductor chip such as a digital signal processor (DSP) or the like, and such miniaturization is progressing. In addition, smaller and longer-life batteries have been developed.

As described above, although the size of cellular telephones has been reduced, conventional cellular telephones are still too large to be stored in a user's pocket. For this reason, the user has to put the cellular telephone in a bag or an attache case, or carry it by hand. Therefore, a cellular phone that can be carried in a pocket is desired.

[0004] One of the factors limiting the miniaturization of cellular telephones
First, there are operational and functional restrictions on the cellular telephone. That is, the user needs to speak through the microphone and listen to the sound from the speaker, so that there must be a certain distance between the microphone and the speaker.

[0005] The display of the cellular telephone is also a barrier to the miniaturization of the cellular telephone. Cellular telephones typically include a display, the contents of which must be readable by the user, and therefore the display cannot be made extremely small. Therefore, a display having a certain size is usually provided on the operation surface of the telephone.

[0006] Many cellular telephones also have a plurality of function buttons. The function buttons are used, for example, at the start and end of a call. There are also cellular telephones having function buttons used for various other purposes.
Since these function buttons are frequently used, they need to be arranged in a place that is easy to use. Therefore, the function keys are installed on the operation surface of the cellular telephone.

A conventional cellular telephone usually has a keypad on the operation surface of the cellular telephone. This keypad is
Used to enter phone numbers. Also, the size of the keypad needs to be large enough for the user to press it with his / her finger. For this reason, the keypad also limits the size reduction of the cellular telephone. Full size keypads, i.e. highly operable keypads, are usually relatively large.
The keypad is usually located on the phone's operating surface,
The keypad will occupy much of the phone's operating surface.
For this reason, the area where the speaker, microphone, display, and various function keys can be arranged is further limited.

[0008]

Many of the conventional cellular telephones have a function of registering the name and telephone number of a destination frequently called by a user. Further, the user may use a keypad or one or more dedicated function keys to
In some cases, the name and telephone number of the other party can be scrolled. However, since the keypad and function keys occupy a large portion of the phone's operating surface, there is little space for the display, and thus many of the displays of conventional cellular telephones were very small.
Therefore, many displays only display one line, which is the minimum condition when the user scrolls the number. For this reason, the operation of reading the registered name and number is difficult, and it takes time and effort. Therefore, without using this registration function, the user manually inputs the telephone number to the keypad by relying on his own memory. Many users make phone calls.

[0009] Therefore, a cellular telephone having a display and a keypad of an appropriate size that is small enough to fit in a user's pocket is desired. Further, a cellular phone having a function of registering / searching the name and telephone number of a destination which is easy for a user to search when making a call is desired.

An object of the present invention is to provide a cellular telephone which is large enough to be stored in a user's pocket and has high operability. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a miniaturized cellular telephone provided with a display and a keypad of a sufficient size and a method of inputting data to the telephone for the telephone.

[0011]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a telephone according to the present invention comprises a telephone body having an opening on a bottom surface, an electronic circuit provided in the telephone body, and a telephone housed in the opening. A keypad housing slidably mounted on the telephone body so as to be pulled out from the opening, and a keypad housing connected to an electronic circuit in the telephone body and protruding from the surface of the keypad, at a position where the keypad housing is pulled out. A keypad into which data is input.

When the keypad housing is in the storage position,
The phone fits into the opening in the phone body, which makes the phone small and portable. The keypad housing is moved to the extraction position by pulling a microphone provided on the keypad housing, for example. When the keypad housing is pulled out, the keypad is exposed. The keypad housing is usually housed inside the phone body and is large enough to accommodate a full size keypad.

The movement of the keypad housing is performed between the storage position and the withdrawal position, and the locking pieces formed in the keypad housing engage with the locking grooves formed in the telephone body, and the keypad housing is moved. At the storage position and the extraction position.

Further, a speaker, a display, an antenna, a battery, a selection switch, and function keys are provided in the telephone body. Since the keypad is not arranged on the operation surface of the telephone body, the size of the telephone can be reduced, and a display having a sufficient size can be attached to the telephone body. The phone body also has enough space for function keys.

In operation, the user can use the keypad to enter, for example, the name and telephone number of a frequently called party. This name and telephone number are registered in the telephone and called up as necessary. This name and number are
It is stored in a non-volatile memory. The user can operate the selection switch to select the other party. The call is
It is started by pressing a function key having a connection function. Further, the call is disconnected by pressing a function key having a disconnection function.

When the keypad housing is stored in the storage position, the telephone is large enough to fit in a user's pocket. The drawer of the keypad housing is required only when the user operates the keypad, such as newly registering the name and number of the other party or manually inputting a telephone number. Therefore, the size of the telephone is reduced without sacrificing convenience.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments do not limit the technical scope of the present invention. That is, the technical scope of the present invention is to be interpreted according to the description of the claims, and the following embodiments can be variously changed, modified, replaced with equivalents, and the like. In the following description, various details are set forth in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, but it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the details. In addition, in order to simplify the description, detailed descriptions of techniques, procedures, elements, circuits, and the like well known to those skilled in the art are omitted.

The telephone 10 shown in FIG.
And a keypad housing 12. Phone body 1
1 has a plastic housing. The keypad 13 is provided so as to be exposed on the surface of the keypad housing 12. The keypad 13 is comprised of 12 standard full size alphanumeric keypads.

An electronic circuit (not shown) electrically connected to the keypad 13 is provided in the telephone body 11. Thus, when the user operates the keypad 13, an input signal based on the operation is generated in the telephone 10. In addition, the telephone 10 has a function of operating the alphanumeric keys of the keypad 13 to register a telephone number frequently used by the user in the memory and to search the memory from the memory.

The telephone 10 has an antenna 14 connected to an electronic circuit in the telephone main body 11. The antenna 14 receives a radio signal from a repeater installed by a cellular telephone company, supplies the received signal to an electronic circuit in the telephone body, and transmits a signal generated in the electronic circuit to the repeater. Has functions.

The display 16 is disposed so as to be exposed on the operation surface side of the telephone main body 11, so that the user can easily visually recognize the display 16. The display 16 is electrically connected to an electronic circuit in the telephone body 11, and displays necessary information to a user. For example, in this embodiment, the name and telephone number of the other party that the user frequently calls are registered in the memory of the telephone 10, and the name and the telephone number can be displayed on the display 16 as necessary. Will be displayed. The telephone number input by the user operating the keypad 13 is displayed on the display 16. The display 16 is a large display that is easy for the user to see. The display 16 can display six to ten lines of text at a time, depending on the displayed character size.

The telephone 10 has a function key 18 protruding from the operation surface of the telephone main body 11. Function key 18
Is connected to an electronic circuit in the telephone body 11. Any number of function keys 18 may be provided according to the function, design, and the like of the telephone 10. In this embodiment, the function key 18 has a connection and disconnection function used by a user of the telephone 10 to start and end a call.

Further, as shown in FIG.
Is provided with a speaker 15. Speaker 15
Is electrically connected to an electronic circuit in the telephone main body 11 and converts an electric signal into a sound when the telephone 10 is used to provide the sound to the user.

Further, as shown in FIG.
0 comprises a microphone 19. In this embodiment, microphone 19 is attached to keypad housing 12. The microphone 19
It is electrically connected to an electronic circuit in the telephone 10, receives a voice spoken by the user, and generates an electric signal based on the received voice. Since the microphone 19 is located at the bottom of the keypad housing 12, i.e., at the end opposite the speaker 15, the distance between the speaker 15 and the microphone 19 is the distance between the user's ear and the mouth. Can be fully supported. That is, the user can hear the sound emitted from the speaker 15 at the same time while speaking toward the microphone 19.

Also, as shown in FIG.
Is provided with a selection switch 17 for the user to select various data items. The selection switch 17
It is electrically connected to the electronic circuit of the telephone 10. For example, a rotary switch may be used as the selection switch 17, so that the user can use the rotary selection switch 1.
7 can be rotated to scroll the data, and the selection switch 17 can be pressed to determine the item.

As a modified example, a selection switch 1
7 may execute the function of the function key 18.
Here, the selection switch 17 can select a function to be executed while scrolling data items displayed on the display 16.

As shown in FIG. 2, the thickness of the keypad housing 12 is formed to be smaller than the thickness of the side surface of the telephone main body 11, and the keypad housing 12 can be stored in a storage portion formed in the telephone main body 11. . The keypad housing 12 is locked at the storage position and the pulled-out position by a latch mechanism. In this embodiment, the latch mechanism has a locking piece 20 protruding from a side surface 22 of the keypad housing 12. Keypad housing 1
Numeral 2 is made of plastic, and the locking piece 20 is integrally formed on the side surface 22 of the keypad housing 12 by bump molding.

FIG. 3 shows a state where the keypad housing 12 is stored in the storage position. As shown in FIG. 3, the microphone 19 fits into an insertion hole formed on the operation surface 23 of the telephone main body 11.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the telephone body 11.
As shown in FIG. 4, when the keypad housing 12 is in the storage position, the bottom surface 2 of the keypad housing 12 is
4 and the bottom surface 25 of the telephone body 11 form one plane,
As a result, the telephone 10 has a small and easily portable shape.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which the keypad housing 12 has been removed from the telephone 10. Bottom 25
Has an opening 26, and a cavity is formed inside the telephone main body 11 from the opening 26. The opening 26 has a keypad housing 1 as shown in FIGS.
2 is inserted.

FIG. 5A is a view showing a state where the keypad housing 12 is inserted into the opening 26. in this way,
In practice, the keypad housing 12 is inserted into the opening 26, and the keypad housing 12 is
It is pulled out from the opening 26 and stored in the opening 26 when not in use. By storing keypad housing 12 in opening 26 in this manner, telephone 10 is large enough to be stored in a user's pocket.

As described above, the keypad housing 12
Is pulled out of the opening 26 during use, that is, pulled out of the storage position to the pull-out position. As shown in FIG.
Guide grooves 27 and 28 are formed on the inner side wall of the telephone body 11, and the guide grooves 27 and 28 are fitted to the side surfaces 21 and 22 of the keypad housing 12 to guide the keypad housing 12. I do. That is, the keypad housing 12 is inserted into and removed from the telephone main body 11 in a state where the keypad housing 12 is formed in the guide grooves 27 and 28.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the electronic circuit of the telephone 10 includes a circuit board 29 and a cable 30. The cable 30 is electrically connected to the circuit board 29 and also to the keypad housing 12, whereby the circuit board 29 is electrically connected to the keypad 13 and the microphone 19. The cable 30 has sufficient length and flexibility, so that
The keypad housing 12 can be pulled out of the storage position to the extraction position, and can be stored from the extraction position to the storage position.

As shown in FIG. 7, the keypad housing 12 is locked at the storage position by fitting a locking groove 31 formed inside the telephone body 11 with a locking piece 20. In this state, when the user grips the microphone 19 and pulls the keypad housing 12 in the pull-out direction, the locking pieces 20 are detached from the locking grooves 31 and the keypad housing 12 is pulled out.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the keypad housing 12 is pulled out, the second locking pieces 32 are fitted into the locking grooves 31. In this embodiment, the keypad housing 1
2 is formed of plastic, and the second locking piece 32 is a keypad housing 1 similar to the locking piece 20.
The two side surfaces are integrally formed by bump molding. Further, in this embodiment, the keypad housing 12 has flanges 3 at the ends of the side surfaces 21 and 22.
3, 34, whereby the keypad housing 1
2 is prevented from being pulled out of the telephone body 11. That is, when the user attempts to further pull out the keypad housing 12 from the pulled-out position, the flange 33,
Reference numeral 34 abuts on the telephone body 11 to restrict the movement of the keypad housing 12 in the pull-out direction.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a push-push latch 35 is used as a latch mechanism for locking the keypad housing 12 at the storage position. At the end of the keypad housing 12, a hook-shaped engaging projection 36 that engages with the push-push latch 35 protrudes. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the keypad housing 12 is moved from the storage position to the pulled-out position using the spring mechanism 37. The spring mechanism 37 includes a coil spring 38. One end of the coil spring 38 is in contact with the inner wall of the housing of the telephone body 11, and the other end is in contact with the top surface of the keypad housing 12. Are compressed when in the storage position as shown in FIG.

The push-push latch 35 engages with an engaging projection 36 projecting from the keypad housing 12, whereby the keypad housing 12 is held at the storage position. Then, when the user pushes the keypad housing 12 further into the telephone body 11. The engagement projection 36 is disengaged from the push-push latch 35, and the keypad housing is moved to the withdrawn position by the urging force of the compressed coil spring 38.

FIG. 10 is a view showing a state in which the keypad housing 12 is at the pulled-out position. In the pulled-out position, the locking pieces 32 are fitted into the locking grooves 31, whereby the keypad housing 12 is locked in the drawn-out position. The user can operate the keypad 13 in this state.

When the user has finished the operation, the user pushes the keypad housing 12 into the telephone body 11 and
As a result, the engagement protrusion 36 is pushed into the push-push latch 35.
With the keypad housing 1
2 is locked in the storage position.

In the embodiment of the present invention, FIGS.
Is used for inputting data and the like. For example, the user can use the keypad 13 to register the name and telephone number of the frequent destination. The registered name and telephone number are displayed on the display 16
Will be displayed. The user can operate the selection switch 17 to scroll the registered name and telephone number on the display 16, search for a desired destination, and dial. Further, the user can operate a function key 18 having a connection start function to start a call with a desired destination. The connection thus established can be disconnected by operating the function key 18 having a disconnection function.

As described above, when performing the above operation, the telephone 10 can be operated with the keypad housing 12 stored in the storage position. The user may pull out the keypad housing 12 as needed.
As a result, the microphone 19 can be brought closer to the mouth. In this embodiment, since the microphone 19 has a sufficient sound-collecting power, it is possible to make a call while the keypad housing 12 is stored in the storage position. That is, when the telephone number is registered in the telephone 10, a call can be made and a telephone call can be made without pulling out the keypad housing 12.

As described above, the telephone 10 can be operated both when the keypad housing 12 is in the storage position and when the keypad housing 12 is in the extension position. Since the microphone 19 and the speaker 15 are both arranged on the center line of the telephone 10, the user can press and use the speaker 15 on both the right and left ears.

The telephone 10 has a keypad housing 12
Is in the storage position, it is so small that it can be easily stored in the user's pocket. Furthermore, the keypad 13
Is provided in the keypad housing 12 housed in the telephone body 11, so that the operation surface 2 of the telephone body 11 is
There is no need to dispose a keypad on the operation panel 3. Therefore, a relatively large display 16 can be disposed on the operation surface 23 together with the speaker 15 and the function keys 18.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described using the telephone 10 as a cellular telephone, the present invention is not limited to the cellular telephone, but may be a satellite telephone or a code division multiple access telephone. Also applicable to That is, the present invention can be applied to a CDMA telephone capable of transmitting and receiving page data and character data.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to a specific embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the details of the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings. Change these details,
It is easy for those skilled in the art to implement the present invention, but such changes, substitutions, and the like are included in the technical scope of the present invention. The technical scope of the present invention is as set forth in the appended claims.

[0046]

As described above, the telephone according to the present invention has the following features.
The keypad housing is housed in a telephone body having an opening, and the keypad housing is pulled out from the telephone body as needed for use. For this reason, the telephone is reduced in size and is large enough to fit in a user's pocket.
In addition, by providing the keypad in the keypad housing accommodated in the telephone body, a relatively large-sized display can be provided together with the speaker and function keys on the telephone body, thereby sacrificing operability and convenience. Without reducing the size of the telephone.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a telephone with a keypad housing extended to an extended position.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the telephone with the keypad housing extended to an extended position.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the telephone in which a keypad housing is stored in a storage position.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the telephone in which the keypad housing is stored in a storage position.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the telephone with the keypad housing removed.

FIG. 5A is a bottom view of the telephone with the keypad housing stored in the storage position.

6 is a cross-sectional view of the telephone shown in FIG. 3, taken along line AA.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a part of the telephone in which the keypad housing is stored in the storage position, with a part cut away.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a part of the telephone in which a keypad housing is pulled out to a pulling-out position;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a telephone including a push-push latch and a spring mechanism, in which a keypad is stored in a storage position and a part of the telephone is cut away.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a part of the telephone having a push-push latch and a spring mechanism, with a keypad pulled out to a pulled-out position, with a part cut away.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 10 telephone, 11 telephone body, 12 keypad housing, 13 keypad, 14 antenna, 15 speaker, 16 display, 17 selection switch, 1
8 function keys, 19 microphones, 21 sides, 2
2 sides

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Nicholas Brown United States of America 94122 San Francisco 8th Avenue 1705 F-term (reference) 5K011 AA03 AA09 JA01 KA12 5K023 AA07 BB03 DD08 EE05 GG08 5K067 AA34 AA42 BB04 EE02 KK17

Claims (20)

[Claims] 1. A telephone body having an opening in a bottom surface, an electronic circuit provided in the telephone body, and slidably mounted on the telephone body so as to be housed in the opening and pulled out from the opening. And a keypad connected to an electronic circuit in the telephone body and protruding from a surface of the keypad, and to which data is input at a position where the keypad housing is pulled out. 2. The telephone according to claim 1, wherein the telephone is a cellular telephone. 3. The telephone body according to claim 1, wherein said telephone body includes first and second guide grooves which are fitted into said keypad housing to guide said keypad housing to a storage position and a withdrawal position. The described telephone. 4. The keypad housing is provided on a surface to be inserted into the telephone main body, and the keypad housing is pulled out from the telephone main body at a predetermined position or more. 2. The telephone according to claim 1, further comprising first and second flanges abutting inside the telephone body so as to restrict the movement of the telephone. 5. The telephone according to claim 1, further comprising a microphone mounted on the keypad housing. 6. The telephone according to claim 1, wherein said keypad is a full-size keypad. 7. The telephone according to claim 1, further comprising a display disposed on the telephone body. 8. The telephone according to claim 1, further comprising a function key provided on the telephone body. 9. The telephone body includes a locking groove, wherein the keypad housing is fitted in the locking groove to fix the keypad housing in a storage position; 4. The telephone according to claim 3, further comprising a second locking piece that fits into the locking groove and fixes the keypad housing in the pulled-out position. 10. A push-push latch for fixing the keypad housing in a storage position, coupled to the telephone body and the keypad housing, and when the push-push latch is released, the keypad housing is biased by a biasing force. 9. The telephone according to claim 8, further comprising: a coil spring for moving the telephone to a pulled-out position. 11. A telephone body having an opening at a bottom surface, a keypad housing accommodated in the opening, a drawer for extracting the keypad housing from the opening, and data provided on the keypad. A telephone comprising input means. 12. The telephone according to claim 11, wherein the telephone is a cellular telephone. 13. The drawing device according to claim 11, wherein the drawing means includes a guide groove which fits into the keypad housing and slidably holds the keypad housing between a storage position and a drawing position. The described telephone. 14. The telephone according to claim 11, further comprising voice input means provided on said keypad housing. 15. The telephone according to claim 11, wherein said keypad is a full-size keypad. 16. The telephone according to claim 11, wherein said telephone body has a display. 17. The telephone according to claim 11, wherein said telephone body includes a function key. 18. A data input method for inputting data to a telephone, comprising: pulling out a keypad provided with input keys from an opening provided in the telephone body; and operating the keys to input data. Inputting the data. 19. The keypad housing is slidably inserted into the telephone body, and the step of pulling out the keypad housing is a step of sliding out the keypad housing from the opening. 19. The data input method according to claim 18, wherein: 20. The telephone body includes a push-push latch and a spring mechanism for applying a biasing force to the keypad housing, wherein the step of pulling out the keypad housing includes the step of: moving the keypad housing relative to the telephone body. 20. The data input method according to claim 19, further comprising the step of pushing in to release the push-push latch and pulling out the keypad housing by the urging force of the spring mechanism.