WO2003081880A1 - Mobile electronic device having a pivoted display - Google Patents

Mobile electronic device having a pivoted display Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2003081880A1
WO2003081880A1 PCT/IB2002/000833 IB0200833W WO03081880A1 WO 2003081880 A1 WO2003081880 A1 WO 2003081880A1 IB 0200833 W IB0200833 W IB 0200833W WO 03081880 A1 WO03081880 A1 WO 03081880A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
cover
electronic device
mobile electronic
display
display element
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/IB2002/000833
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Marko Eromäki
Esa Määttä
Original Assignee
Nokia Corporation
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 Nokia Corporation filed Critical Nokia Corporation
Priority to AU2002244876A priority Critical patent/AU2002244876A1/en
Priority to DE60214246T priority patent/DE60214246T2/en
Priority to EP02713090A priority patent/EP1486052B1/en
Priority to PCT/IB2002/000833 priority patent/WO2003081880A1/en
Priority to CNB028282914A priority patent/CN100496058C/en
Priority to US10/395,016 priority patent/US7197346B2/en
Publication of WO2003081880A1 publication Critical patent/WO2003081880A1/en

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
    • H04M1/0214—Foldable telephones, i.e. with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
    • H04M1/0216—Foldable in one direction, i.e. using a one degree of freedom hinge
    • 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
    • G06F1/1624—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 sliding enclosures, e.g. sliding keyboard or display
    • 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
    • G06F1/1633—Constructional details or arrangements of portable computers not specific to the type of enclosures covered by groups G06F1/1615 - G06F1/1626
    • G06F1/1662—Details related to the integrated keyboard
    • G06F1/1671—Special purpose buttons or auxiliary keyboards, e.g. retractable mini keypads, keypads or buttons that remain accessible at closed laptop
    • 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
    • G06F1/1633—Constructional details or arrangements of portable computers not specific to the type of enclosures covered by groups G06F1/1615 - G06F1/1626
    • G06F1/1675—Miscellaneous details related to the relative movement between the different enclosures or enclosure parts
    • G06F1/1677—Miscellaneous details related to the relative movement between the different enclosures or enclosure parts for detecting open or closed state or particular intermediate positions assumed by movable parts of the enclosure, e.g. detection of display lid position with respect to main body in a laptop, detection of opening of the cover of battery compartment
    • 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
    • G06F1/1633—Constructional details or arrangements of portable computers not specific to the type of enclosures covered by groups G06F1/1615 - G06F1/1626
    • G06F1/1675—Miscellaneous details related to the relative movement between the different enclosures or enclosure parts
    • G06F1/1679—Miscellaneous details related to the relative movement between the different enclosures or enclosure parts for locking or maintaining the movable parts of the enclosure in a fixed position, e.g. latching mechanism at the edge of the display in a laptop or for the screen protective cover of a PDA
    • 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
    • H04M1/0247—Portable telephones comprising a plurality of mechanically joined movable body parts, e.g. hinged housings comprising more than two body parts
    • 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
    • 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
    • G06F2200/163—Indexing scheme relating to constructional details of the computer
    • G06F2200/1634—Integrated protective display lid, e.g. for touch-sensitive display in handheld computer
    • 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
    • H04M1/0235—Slidable or telescopic telephones, i.e. with a relative translation movement of the body parts; Telephones using a combination of translation and other relative motions of the body parts
    • 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
    • H04M1/026—Details of the structure or mounting of specific components
    • H04M1/0266—Details of the structure or mounting of specific components for a display module assembly

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to foldable mobile electronic devices (MED). More particular the present invention relates to foldable communicator and personal digital assistant PDA)-type of devices. More specifically the invention relates to the field of folding mechanism for communicator and PDA-type of devices. In particular the present invention relates to a mobile electronic device having a pivotable display element.
  • MED foldable mobile electronic devices
  • PDA personal digital assistant
  • a mobile electronic device comprising: a keyboard with an operative surface, a cover having at least one transparent area, and a display element having a display surface.
  • the mobile phone described therein has a keyboard, located on a foldable cover with a transparent area, and is operable in the open and in the closed position.
  • the display element incorporated in the body of the device is visible through a transparent area of the cover in the closed position, but it is just another example of the traditional clamshell construction that has been used for years.
  • the device described in WO9819434 further has the drawback that the device can not be used on a desk in laptop fashion, because the display is incorporated in the body of the device so the device would tilt when opened and placed on a table.
  • WO0153919 a convertible modular PDA is described. It has three parts but these parts are attached with hinges to the central part and by switching their positions, different modes are available.
  • the device in this document needs at least two displays to provide the desired functionality.
  • a mobile electronic device with a keyboard having an operative surface, a cover having at least one transparent area, and a display element having a display surface. Said cover, said display and said keyboard are movably connected.
  • the mobile electronic device comprises an open position wherein the display surface is located adjacent to said keyboard, said display surface and said keyboard being both (completely) visible and accessible.
  • the mobile electronic device further comprises a closed position wherein said cover is covering said display element, and at least a part of said display surface is visible through said transparent area of said cover.
  • the mobile terminal comprises three parts: cover, display element and keyboard/engine.
  • the display element moves away from the top of the keyboard and turns so that same display is in appropriate position for use with a keyboard.
  • the cover can be made from transparent material and if the display is a touch screen, any kind of visual appearance can be achieved also when in closed position.
  • the keyboard, said cover, and said display element are connected by kinematic elements selected from the group of swivels, connecting rods, levers and/or slide tracks and slide rails.
  • the MED may be embodied by a connecting rod-only embodiment, wherein said slide track is replaced by connecting rods. Even a slide track- only solution can be realised wherein compared to the device depicted in the figures the upper end of the display element is slideably connected to the cover, so that in the open position, a user can slide the display element from above the keyboard above the cover towards the inside of the clamshell. This may be embodied as a single slide track on the body and the cover, that can be used only with an open clamshell.
  • connecting rods f om the swivel of the clamshell to the middle of the display element, both being pivotably attached and a combination of levers to achieve in the beginning an equiangular double clamshell opening of the cover, the display element and the body, and then a flip motion of the display element and finally an approach of the display element towards the cover. It may even be possible to control the opening and the closing of the device by means of servo components, wherein the movement can be controlled by servo control components.
  • said display element is a touch screen display element having a touch screen surface.
  • a touch screen display the electronic device can provide multiple advantages to a user. In the open position a touch screen can economise an input device to provide a cursor functionality. The user can simply touch the screen and does not have to interact with trackballs, touch pads and the like.
  • a touch screen display and a thin cover can reduce the thickness of the device distinctly. Also, when in closed position, there is no need for a separate display and/or keys on top of the device. Everything can be done with a touch screen. This also enables several different modes when in closed position. For example, the top of the electronic device can be used for gaming and all the surface could be used without restrictions. Also a structure for a sliding display is robust. Preferably, the cover itself is flippable without exposing the keyboard to provide an enhanced gaming operability or the like.
  • said cover provides an operative surface.
  • the operative surface can be provided by e.g. membrane buttons or the like.
  • said operative surface of said cover is transferring user interaction with said cover to input sensitive areas of said touch screen display.
  • the transfer functionality can be embodied as e.g. rubber buttons, or slideably attached transparent buttons, that may comprise a stop to prevent damage to the display.
  • said cover can make underlying objects visible by an opening.
  • a simple opening in the cover enables a cheap cover design.
  • apertures in the cover can be used to provide a direct touch screen access to the user so that the cover can be made of one-piece rigid material, without the need for rubber buttons and the like. This comprises the advantages of customisable button texts, and the fact that openings are easy to clean.
  • said cover can be made visible through at least one transparent window portion.
  • a transparent material the touch screen and the display can be protected from being damaged in the closed position. So the device is better protected against environmental conditions, such as force, pressure, dust, spray and the like
  • said operative surfaces of the MED and of said touch screen display element are operable in said open position.
  • said cover is pivotably attached to said keyboard.
  • a simple swivel is a robust and easy to implement connection providing an easy-to-understand operation to a user.
  • said kinematic elements are attached to the keyboard, the display and the cover, so that said open position can be achieved by just moving or pivoting said cover from the closed to the open position.
  • the kinematic elements offer a fast and simple motion of the cover with an automated leaded motion of the display element, it can be prevented that a user damages the mobile electronic device (MED) by disregarding the sequence of motions to e.g. close the device, as may happen if the MED is embodied as a cover pivotably connected to the keyboard and a display element connected via e.g. slide tracks to both, wherein said device may fold up in a triangular fashion, wherein parts of the slide track connection maybe damaged.
  • MED mobile electronic device
  • said MED further comprises a component to detect, if the mobile electronic device is in an open or in a closed position.
  • This component can be a switch or the like operated when the device is opened or closed.
  • This may be embodied as a contact or contact-less operated switch actuated by the kinematic elements in accordance with their position.
  • said MED further comprises a component to operate said display according to said detected position. This is especially useful to switch from the display mode in the closed position to the display mode in the open position (cf. Fig. 3B)
  • At least a part of said cover is detachably attached to said MED.
  • detachable covers a MED according to this embodiment of the invention is freed from nearly all restrictions from standard clip on covers such as button- and display- size and arrangement and the like (cf. Fig.6).
  • buttons can be arranged in a triangular, round or oval or any other fashion without any problems of implementation.
  • a dial can be implemented without any problems, e.g. by just providing a %-circle shaped aperture and a displayed dial, the depicted dial can be animated which would be a nice retro style application, providing dialability without any mechanical parts.
  • the MED further comprises a component to operate said display according to said attached cover. So there is a feature provided to not only provide different covers but also the possibility to adapt the operation of the display and the touch screen to the design of the cover actually clipped on. Hence, the appearance and the operation of the mobile terminal device can be customised.
  • the MED further comprises a switching component to activate or disable at least one of said operative surfaces.
  • This component enables two different operative aspects, firstly e.g. a keyboard on the MED may be deactivated in the closed position to prevent that small objects between the rear surface of the display element and the keyboard inadvertently activate undesired functions in the closed state. This feature may be extended so that in the closed state the keys on the keyboard are pressed, to provide a smaller overall height of the MED.
  • the switching component can be used to simply lock the input of the device e.g. when carried in a pocket.
  • said MED is a mobile communication device, a mobile computer device or the like.
  • the MED can be a cell phone with additional features in the open position.
  • the MED can be a PDA with additional features in the closed position, like palmtop computers and the like.
  • the MED can be e.g. a digital versatile disc (DND) or CD player with the positions to watch e.g. a film in the open and in the closed position, and providing e.g an electronic book feature in the closed position.
  • DND digital versatile disc
  • Figure 1 is an exploded view of the main parts of a mobile electronic device according to one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 2 depicts the physical connections between the parts of the electronic device of figure 1
  • Figures 3 A to 3N illustrate the steps by which the folding mechanism of the device of figure works by moving the cover in 10 degrees steps
  • Figure 4 is a back view of the device of figure 1 in the open position
  • Figure 5 is a side view of the device of figure 1 in the open position
  • Figure 6 depicts an embodiment of the mobile electronic device with an exchangeable cover with according to another embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the main elements of a mobile electronic device according to one embodiment of the present invention.
  • the folding mechanism presented here enables to use only one large PDA-display on the device which has two modes, phone and PDA mode.
  • the electronic device comprises a cover 2, a display 4, and body 6, and two connecting rods 8.
  • the body 6 can also be denoted as keyboard or keyboard element.
  • Figure 2 depicts the physical connections between the parts of the electronic device of figure 1.
  • the mechanism contains two connecting rods 8 that are connected on one end to front cover 2 and on the other to display element 4, both ends are pivotably attached.
  • the display element 4 and body 6 are connected with slide tracks 30 which enables axial rotation and movement along the slide tracks.
  • the body 6 and front cover 2 are hinged together.
  • Figures 3 A to 3N illustrate how the folding mechanism of the device of figure works by moving the cover in 10 degrees steps.
  • Figure 3A depicts assembled electronic device in the closed position.
  • the front operative surface of said body 6 is substantially conforming the rear surface of said display element 4 and said rear surface of said cover 2 is substantially conforming said display surface of said display element 4.
  • the cover 2 has apertures 10,12 so that in the closed position, at least part of said front display surface of said display element 4 is visible through the apertures 10 and 12 of the cover 2.
  • the apertures 10,12 enable a user to use the large display in the closed position.
  • the cover 2 further has keys 14 so that in the closed position, at least a part of the front cover surface can be operated as in the case of a conventional handheld mobile telephone.
  • the keys 14 can be embodied as e.g. keys implemented in the cover, and connected to the body of the device e.g. by a flexible power connector.
  • the keys 14 can be embodied as elastomer or rubber keys transferring pressure applied to the keys to the touch screen display, economising electric keys in the cover 2.
  • the elastomer keys 14 can be provided with a stop to prevent a damage of the touch screen display if overpressure is applied to the keys 14. If the elastomer keys 14 are provided with a transparent area, the device can provide a softkey functionality, by changing the lettering of the keys according to an actually available function.
  • the number of keys 14 necessary to operate can be reduced to a minimum, if a softkey only cover is used.
  • Using transparent elastomer keys 14 further has the advantage that active or expected inputs of keys to be pressed can be indicated e.g. by colour or animated illumination provided from the display. This feature can be helpful e.g. to accept an incoming phone call in the dark, if the device illuminates only the key to be pressed to accept the call.
  • the area of the display visible through the aperture 10 can be used to provide the standard functionality of e.g. a standard cellular phone display, such as reading SMS, MMS and the like. If the display is a colour personal digital assistant (PDA) display, so also the phone display will be in colour.
  • PDA personal digital assistant
  • the aperture 12 can be used to display flashing and scrolling illuminated coloured phone logos and texts can be placed on any area of front cover and varied with software updates.
  • the logos can be SMS-logos, operator logos or manufacturer logos (see Fig. 3A).
  • the mobile electronic device In the closed position the mobile electronic device is designed for one hand use so that the displayed text is substantially oriented parallel to the slide tracks 30 or the connecting rods 8 in the closed position
  • a switch (not shown) turns first off the phone display texts and activates the horizontal PDA screen texts 20.
  • the two connecting rods 8 control the display element 4 and align it to a different position.
  • FIGS 3C to 3M depict how the folding mechanism works during the opening of the device of by moving the cover 2 in 10 degrees steps.
  • the opening angle is restricted with a notch feature 28 on the side edge of display element 4 (fig. 3N).
  • the closing movement is done vice versa.
  • Figure 4 is a back view of the device of figure 1 in the open position, with the rear surface of the display element 4 visible through the aperture in the cover 2.
  • Figure 5 is a side view of the device in the open position. Most likely the display element 4 is connected to the body 6 (where all hardware elements are integrated in) with flexible power connector (FPC) 24. As shown in Fig.5 the FPC will always remain safe between front cover 2 and display element 4 or between the display element 4 and the body 6 during opening and closing.
  • FPC flexible power connector
  • Figure 6 depicts an embodiment of an other embodiment of a cover 2.
  • the cover 2 of figure 6 is an exchange cover. If the exchange cover 2 comprises an exchangeable operative surface, or if the cover 2 is detachable and exchangeable, an other advantage of the invention becomes apparent.
  • the design of the exchange cover 2 is not restricted by conventional display and keyboards located under the surface of the exchange cover 2.
  • the exchangeable cover 2 but can comprise arbitrary apertures for providing any display sizes and orientations.
  • a software download may be used to adapt the functionality to the embodiment of the respective cover.
  • reference numeral 2 refers to the exchange cover element.
  • the cover element 2 can be the whole cover, that may be exchangeable only by service stations, or can be a user exchangeable clip on cover.
  • the cover 2 comprises a display aperture 10, and a logo aperture 12. one or both apertures may be covered with transparent material to provide an additional protection of the touch screen below.
  • the whole cover can be made of transparent material, and may be painted or coated on the non display areas.
  • the cover comprises buttons 14 that can be simple rubber elements that pass a pressure to the touch screen.
  • the keys can be electrical elements connected to the body 6 by e.g. a FPC. The only technical requirement out of the ordinary is, that the keys themselves have to be thin, in order not to waste the height gained by the inventive design.
  • the cover further has a built in loudspeaker 30 to provide the full telephone operability.
  • the loudspeaker may be arranged on the rear side of the body 6, as the body 6 is the element of the electronic device with the biggest height, for simple implementation. Such an "upside down" design would has the advantage that the whole cover can be completely with out any electrical connections.
  • the cover 2 of Fig. 6 further comprises a catch 22, to lock the cover to the body in the closed position in a spectacle case fashion.
  • a device according to the invention improves earlier solutions and has the following advantages: It enables to use only one large display for the both modes, phone and PDA mode, and thereby economises a whole display element.
  • the phone display With colour PDA display, the phone display will be a colour display, too.
  • Flashing and scrolling illuminated coloured phone logos and texts can be placed on any area of front cover and varied with software, SMS-logos, operator logos, and manufacturer (see Fig. 3 Aa)
  • the illumination of keys can be done with the illumination of display, and can be adapted to the actual functionality of the keys.
  • Front cover would be only a protective plastic part on top of the display screen which would fold away from it when it is opened.
  • An aspect of the invention lies in three-part construction where same display can be used in open and closed position.
  • a foldable display element that is in the middle between cover and keyboard and the way it moves is a feature of the invention when considering prior art.
  • a special folding mechanism is provided which enables to use the same large display component on an electronic device such as a NOKIA® Communicator construction on both, phone and PDA, modes. This results in a thinner and more lightweight construction and brings new features and last but not least a "WOW" effect to the device.

Abstract

The invention presents a new way to implement bigger keyboard in foldable mobile electronic devices terminal devices without increasing the size. The mobile terminal device is foldable, and can be arranged in a closed and in an open position, wherein in both positions a large display is at least partially visible and operable. A mobile terminal device according to the invention comprises a body, a display and at least one cover. The cover is movably attached to said body, and comprises a kinematic chain or a gear to move or guide the display in a way that it is visible in the closed and in the open position.

Description

Mobile eletronic device having a pivoted display
The present invention relates to foldable mobile electronic devices (MED). More particular the present invention relates to foldable communicator and personal digital assistant PDA)-type of devices. More specifically the invention relates to the field of folding mechanism for communicator and PDA-type of devices. In particular the present invention relates to a mobile electronic device having a pivotable display element.
The integration of mobile device involves that mobile phones and other mobile terminal devices such as PDA's (personal digital assistants) and pocket computers are getting smarter, smaller and offer more and more different functions. This leads to the requirement of more extended and versatile input devices such as keyboards. At the same time, however, the size of the mobile terminal devices has to remain the same or even get smaller. The need for relatively large keyboards for small mobile terminal devices is growing all the time when mobile terminal devices decrease in size. Existing solutions encompass foldable mobile terminal devices, or if more applications are needed, solutions such as the Nokia Communicator.
The problems with current NOKIA® Communicators (9000,9110,9210, ...) is that the clamshell concept begins to reach its limits and does not allow extended options. The biggest problem may be the total thickness of the device. Especially with two displays (and double sided printed wire board) more size is needed and the product is more expensive. Although practical, its big size does not agree to everyone's taste. Mechanism for two displays and a keyboard and a keypad, however does not make it very easy to decrease the size of the phone.
Prior attempts of foldable mobile terminal devices are described e.g. in the patent applications WO9819434, and WO0153919. From WO9819434 there is known the preamble of claim 1 comprising a mobile electronic device (MED) comprising: a keyboard with an operative surface, a cover having at least one transparent area, and a display element having a display surface. The mobile phone described therein has a keyboard, located on a foldable cover with a transparent area, and is operable in the open and in the closed position. The display element incorporated in the body of the device is visible through a transparent area of the cover in the closed position, but it is just another example of the traditional clamshell construction that has been used for years. The device described in WO9819434 further has the drawback that the device can not be used on a desk in laptop fashion, because the display is incorporated in the body of the device so the device would tilt when opened and placed on a table.
In WO0153919 a convertible modular PDA is described. It has three parts but these parts are attached with hinges to the central part and by switching their positions, different modes are available. The device in this document needs at least two displays to provide the desired functionality.
It is desirable to improve foldable mobile electronic devices that are operable in a closed and in an open position.
It is desirable to have a thinner and more lightweight construction for a foldable mobile electronic device.
According to an embodiment of the present invention a mobile electronic device with a keyboard having an operative surface, a cover having at least one transparent area, and a display element having a display surface is provided. Said cover, said display and said keyboard are movably connected. The mobile electronic device comprises an open position wherein the display surface is located adjacent to said keyboard, said display surface and said keyboard being both (completely) visible and accessible. The mobile electronic device further comprises a closed position wherein said cover is covering said display element, and at least a part of said display surface is visible through said transparent area of said cover.
According to one embodiment of the present invention a way to achieve communicator look-alike device with only one display element is provided which also gives extra benefits including smaller size. In this concept the mobile terminal comprises three parts: cover, display element and keyboard/engine. When opened, the display element moves away from the top of the keyboard and turns so that same display is in appropriate position for use with a keyboard. When closed, display is on top of the keyboard so that it is facing towards the cover. The cover can be made from transparent material and if the display is a touch screen, any kind of visual appearance can be achieved also when in closed position. Conveniently, the keyboard, said cover, and said display element are connected by kinematic elements selected from the group of swivels, connecting rods, levers and/or slide tracks and slide rails. So different embodiments of the MED can be realised : a combination of connecting rods and slide tracks as depicted in the figures 1 to 5. The MED may be embodied by a connecting rod-only embodiment, wherein said slide track is replaced by connecting rods. Even a slide track- only solution can be realised wherein compared to the device depicted in the figures the upper end of the display element is slideably connected to the cover, so that in the open position, a user can slide the display element from above the keyboard above the cover towards the inside of the clamshell. This may be embodied as a single slide track on the body and the cover, that can be used only with an open clamshell. It is even possible to use connecting rods f om the swivel of the clamshell to the middle of the display element, both being pivotably attached and a combination of levers to achieve in the beginning an equiangular double clamshell opening of the cover, the display element and the body, and then a flip motion of the display element and finally an approach of the display element towards the cover. It may even be possible to control the opening and the closing of the device by means of servo components, wherein the movement can be controlled by servo control components.
Preferably, said display element is a touch screen display element having a touch screen surface. By using a touch screen display the electronic device can provide multiple advantages to a user. In the open position a touch screen can economise an input device to provide a cursor functionality. The user can simply touch the screen and does not have to interact with trackballs, touch pads and the like.
A touch screen display and a thin cover can reduce the thickness of the device distinctly. Also, when in closed position, there is no need for a separate display and/or keys on top of the device. Everything can be done with a touch screen. This also enables several different modes when in closed position. For example, the top of the electronic device can be used for gaming and all the surface could be used without restrictions. Also a structure for a sliding display is robust. Preferably, the cover itself is flippable without exposing the keyboard to provide an enhanced gaming operability or the like.
Preferably, said cover provides an operative surface. The operative surface can be provided by e.g. membrane buttons or the like.
Preferably, said operative surface of said cover is transferring user interaction with said cover to input sensitive areas of said touch screen display. This enables the manufacturer to build very flat and lightweight covers. The transfer functionality can be embodied as e.g. rubber buttons, or slideably attached transparent buttons, that may comprise a stop to prevent damage to the display.
Advantageously, said cover can make underlying objects visible by an opening. A simple opening in the cover enables a cheap cover design. Preferably, apertures in the cover can be used to provide a direct touch screen access to the user so that the cover can be made of one-piece rigid material, without the need for rubber buttons and the like. This comprises the advantages of customisable button texts, and the fact that openings are easy to clean.
Conveniently, said cover can be made visible through at least one transparent window portion. By using a transparent material the touch screen and the display can be protected from being damaged in the closed position. So the device is better protected against environmental conditions, such as force, pressure, dust, spray and the like
Preferably, said operative surfaces of the MED and of said touch screen display element are operable in said open position. By operating the touch screen a user does not have to interact with trackballs, touch pads and the like, and the mobile electronic device provides additional user interactivity. Cursor input devices can be economised.
Advantageously, said cover is pivotably attached to said keyboard. A simple swivel is a robust and easy to implement connection providing an easy-to-understand operation to a user.
Preferably, said kinematic elements are attached to the keyboard, the display and the cover, so that said open position can be achieved by just moving or pivoting said cover from the closed to the open position. If the kinematic elements offer a fast and simple motion of the cover with an automated leaded motion of the display element, it can be prevented that a user damages the mobile electronic device (MED) by disregarding the sequence of motions to e.g. close the device, as may happen if the MED is embodied as a cover pivotably connected to the keyboard and a display element connected via e.g. slide tracks to both, wherein said device may fold up in a triangular fashion, wherein parts of the slide track connection maybe damaged.
Advantageously, said MED further comprises a component to detect, if the mobile electronic device is in an open or in a closed position. This component can be a switch or the like operated when the device is opened or closed. This may be embodied as a contact or contact-less operated switch actuated by the kinematic elements in accordance with their position.
Conveniently said MED further comprises a component to operate said display according to said detected position. This is especially useful to switch from the display mode in the closed position to the display mode in the open position (cf. Fig. 3B)
Preferably, at least a part of said cover is detachably attached to said MED. By using detachable covers a MED according to this embodiment of the invention is freed from nearly all restrictions from standard clip on covers such as button- and display- size and arrangement and the like (cf. Fig.6).
Just to give a slight idea of the plurality of possibilities provided by said concept the buttons can be arranged in a triangular, round or oval or any other fashion without any problems of implementation. Even a dial can be implemented without any problems, e.g. by just providing a %-circle shaped aperture and a displayed dial, the depicted dial can be animated which would be a nice retro style application, providing dialability without any mechanical parts.
Advantageously, the MED further comprises a component to operate said display according to said attached cover. So there is a feature provided to not only provide different covers but also the possibility to adapt the operation of the display and the touch screen to the design of the cover actually clipped on. Hence, the appearance and the operation of the mobile terminal device can be customised.
Preferably, the MED further comprises a switching component to activate or disable at least one of said operative surfaces. This component enables two different operative aspects, firstly e.g. a keyboard on the MED may be deactivated in the closed position to prevent that small objects between the rear surface of the display element and the keyboard inadvertently activate undesired functions in the closed state. This feature may be extended so that in the closed state the keys on the keyboard are pressed, to provide a smaller overall height of the MED. The switching component can be used to simply lock the input of the device e.g. when carried in a pocket.
Conveniently, said MED is a mobile communication device, a mobile computer device or the like. The MED can be a cell phone with additional features in the open position. The MED can be a PDA with additional features in the closed position, like palmtop computers and the like. The MED can be e.g. a digital versatile disc (DND) or CD player with the positions to watch e.g. a film in the open and in the closed position, and providing e.g an electronic book feature in the closed position.
In the following, the invention will be described in detail by referring to the enclosed drawings in which: Figure 1 is an exploded view of the main parts of a mobile electronic device according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 depicts the physical connections between the parts of the electronic device of figure 1,
Figures 3 A to 3N illustrate the steps by which the folding mechanism of the device of figure works by moving the cover in 10 degrees steps,
Figure 4 is a back view of the device of figure 1 in the open position,
Figure 5 is a side view of the device of figure 1 in the open position,
Figure 6 depicts an embodiment of the mobile electronic device with an exchangeable cover with according to another embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 1 is an exploded view of the main elements of a mobile electronic device according to one embodiment of the present invention. The folding mechanism presented here enables to use only one large PDA-display on the device which has two modes, phone and PDA mode. The electronic device comprises a cover 2, a display 4, and body 6, and two connecting rods 8. The body 6 can also be denoted as keyboard or keyboard element.
Figure 2 depicts the physical connections between the parts of the electronic device of figure 1. The mechanism contains two connecting rods 8 that are connected on one end to front cover 2 and on the other to display element 4, both ends are pivotably attached. The display element 4 and body 6 are connected with slide tracks 30 which enables axial rotation and movement along the slide tracks. The body 6 and front cover 2 are hinged together.
Figures 3 A to 3N illustrate how the folding mechanism of the device of figure works by moving the cover in 10 degrees steps. Figure 3A depicts assembled electronic device in the closed position. In the closed position the front operative surface of said body 6 is substantially conforming the rear surface of said display element 4 and said rear surface of said cover 2 is substantially conforming said display surface of said display element 4. The cover 2 has apertures 10,12 so that in the closed position, at least part of said front display surface of said display element 4 is visible through the apertures 10 and 12 of the cover 2. The apertures 10,12 enable a user to use the large display in the closed position. The cover 2 further has keys 14 so that in the closed position, at least a part of the front cover surface can be operated as in the case of a conventional handheld mobile telephone. The keys 14 can be embodied as e.g. keys implemented in the cover, and connected to the body of the device e.g. by a flexible power connector. In the case that a touch screen display is used, the keys 14 can be embodied as elastomer or rubber keys transferring pressure applied to the keys to the touch screen display, economising electric keys in the cover 2. The elastomer keys 14 can be provided with a stop to prevent a damage of the touch screen display if overpressure is applied to the keys 14. If the elastomer keys 14 are provided with a transparent area, the device can provide a softkey functionality, by changing the lettering of the keys according to an actually available function. The number of keys 14 necessary to operate can be reduced to a minimum, if a softkey only cover is used. Using transparent elastomer keys 14 further has the advantage that active or expected inputs of keys to be pressed can be indicated e.g. by colour or animated illumination provided from the display. This feature can be helpful e.g. to accept an incoming phone call in the dark, if the device illuminates only the key to be pressed to accept the call.
The area of the display visible through the aperture 10 can be used to provide the standard functionality of e.g. a standard cellular phone display, such as reading SMS, MMS and the like. If the display is a colour personal digital assistant (PDA) display, so also the phone display will be in colour. The aperture 12 can be used to display flashing and scrolling illuminated coloured phone logos and texts can be placed on any area of front cover and varied with software updates. The logos can be SMS-logos, operator logos or manufacturer logos (see Fig. 3A). In the closed position the mobile electronic device is designed for one hand use so that the displayed text is substantially oriented parallel to the slide tracks 30 or the connecting rods 8 in the closed position
When the front cover 2 is opened (Fig. 3B), a switch (not shown) turns first off the phone display texts and activates the horizontal PDA screen texts 20. During opening procedure the two connecting rods 8 control the display element 4 and align it to a different position.
The Figures 3C to 3M depict how the folding mechanism works during the opening of the device of by moving the cover 2 in 10 degrees steps.
The opening angle is restricted with a notch feature 28 on the side edge of display element 4 (fig. 3N).
The closing movement is done vice versa.
Figure 4 is a back view of the device of figure 1 in the open position, with the rear surface of the display element 4 visible through the aperture in the cover 2. Figure 5 is a side view of the device in the open position. Most likely the display element 4 is connected to the body 6 (where all hardware elements are integrated in) with flexible power connector (FPC) 24. As shown in Fig.5 the FPC will always remain safe between front cover 2 and display element 4 or between the display element 4 and the body 6 during opening and closing.
Figure 6 depicts an embodiment of an other embodiment of a cover 2. The cover 2 of figure 6 is an exchange cover. If the exchange cover 2 comprises an exchangeable operative surface, or if the cover 2 is detachable and exchangeable, an other advantage of the invention becomes apparent. The design of the exchange cover 2 is not restricted by conventional display and keyboards located under the surface of the exchange cover 2. The exchangeable cover 2 but can comprise arbitrary apertures for providing any display sizes and orientations. As an example for this a cover design similar to the NOKIA® 5510 mobile telephone. To provide the complete hardware compatibility to any kind of cover-, key- and display design, a software download may be used to adapt the functionality to the embodiment of the respective cover.
In the figure, reference numeral 2 refers to the exchange cover element. The cover element 2 can be the whole cover, that may be exchangeable only by service stations, or can be a user exchangeable clip on cover. The cover 2 comprises a display aperture 10, and a logo aperture 12. one or both apertures may be covered with transparent material to provide an additional protection of the touch screen below. The whole cover can be made of transparent material, and may be painted or coated on the non display areas. The cover comprises buttons 14 that can be simple rubber elements that pass a pressure to the touch screen. The keys can be electrical elements connected to the body 6 by e.g. a FPC. The only technical requirement out of the ordinary is, that the keys themselves have to be thin, in order not to waste the height gained by the inventive design. Domes under a membrane are a tested and a quite sufficiently thin implementation for the cover. The cover further has a built in loudspeaker 30 to provide the full telephone operability. The loudspeaker may be arranged on the rear side of the body 6, as the body 6 is the element of the electronic device with the biggest height, for simple implementation. Such an "upside down" design would has the advantage that the whole cover can be completely with out any electrical connections. The cover 2 of Fig. 6 further comprises a catch 22, to lock the cover to the body in the closed position in a spectacle case fashion.
It is to be noted that a device according to the invention improves earlier solutions and has the following advantages: It enables to use only one large display for the both modes, phone and PDA mode, and thereby economises a whole display element.
With colour PDA display, the phone display will be a colour display, too.
Flashing and scrolling illuminated coloured phone logos and texts can be placed on any area of front cover and varied with software, SMS-logos, operator logos, and manufacturer (see Fig. 3 Aa)
- Front cover rubber keys would be pressed against the large screen which would have touch screen feature
The illumination of keys can be done with the illumination of display, and can be adapted to the actual functionality of the keys.
Enables simpler and cheaper design: Front cover would be only a protective plastic part on top of the display screen which would fold away from it when it is opened.
Enables smaller total thickness of device, as no second display, components, button domes etc. are required.
Results lower weight for the upper part so that the device would not tilt when opened and placed on a table.
- Results in a lower total weight of the mobile electronic device.
An aspect of the invention lies in three-part construction where same display can be used in open and closed position. A foldable display element that is in the middle between cover and keyboard and the way it moves is a feature of the invention when considering prior art.
A special folding mechanism is provided which enables to use the same large display component on an electronic device such as a NOKIA® Communicator construction on both, phone and PDA, modes. This results in a thinner and more lightweight construction and brings new features and last but not least a "WOW" effect to the device.
This application contains the description of implementations and embodiments of the present invention with the help of examples. It will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that the present invention is not restricted to details of the embodiments presented above, and that the invention can also be implemented in another form without deviating from the characteristics of the invention. The embodiments presented above should be considered illustrative, but not restricting. Thus the possibilities of implementing and using the invention are only restricted by the enclosed claims. Consequently, various options of implementing the invention as determined by the claims, including equivalent implementations, also belong to the scope of the invention.

Claims

Claims
1. Mobile electronic device (MED) comprising: - a keyboard with an operative surface,
- a cover having at least one transparent area,
- a display element having a display surface, characterized in that; said cover, said display element and said keyboard are movably connected to each other and define an open position, wherein the display surface is located adjacent to said keyboard, said display surface and said keyboard both being completely visible and accessible in said open position, and a closed position, wherein said cover is covering said display element, said display element is on top of the said keyboard, so that the display surface is facing towards said cover, at least a part of said display surface being visible through said transparent area of said cover in said closed position.
2. Mobile electronic device, according to claim 1, wherein said cover, said display element and said keyboard are connected by kinematic elements selected from the group of swivels, connecting rods, levers and/or slide tracks and slide rails.
3. Mobile electronic device, according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said display element has a touch screen display surface.
4. Mobile electronic device according to one of claims 1, 2 or 3, wherein said cover provides an operative cover surface.
5. Mobile electronic device according to claims 4 and 5, wherein said operative cover surface is operated by transferring user interaction with said cover to input sensitive areas of said touch screen display surface.
6. Mobile electronic device according to anyone of claims 1 to 5, wherein said transparent area of the cover is an opening.
7. Mobile electronic device according to claim 6, wherein said opening is covered with transparent material.
8. Mobile electronic device according to anyone of claims 3 to 7, wherein in said open position, both said operative surface of said mobile electronic device and said touch screen display surface are operable.
9. Mobile electronic device according to anyone of the preceding claims, wherein said cover is pivotably attached to said keyboard.
10. Mobile electronic device according to anyone of the claims 2 to 9, wherein said kinematic elements are attached to said keyboard, said display element and said cover, in such a way that said open position can be achieved upon pivoting said cover from the closed to the open position.
11. Mobile electronic device according to anyone of the preceding claims, further comprising a component to detect, if the mobile electronic device is in said open or in said closed position.
12. Mobile electronic device according to claim 11, further comprising a component to operate said display element in accordance with said detected position.
13. Mobile electronic device according to anyone of the preceding claims, wherein at least a part of said cover is movably attached to said display element.
14. Mobile electronic device according to claim 13, further comprising a component to operate said display element in accordance with said cover being attached or being detached from the mobile electronic device.
15. Mobile electronic device according to anyone of the preceding claims, further comprising switching means to activate or disable at least one of said operative surfaces.
16. Mobile electronic device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein said mobile terminal device is a mobile communication device, a mobile computer device or media player.
PCT/IB2002/000833 2002-03-21 2002-03-21 Mobile electronic device having a pivoted display WO2003081880A1 (en)

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AU2002244876A AU2002244876A1 (en) 2002-03-21 2002-03-21 Mobile electronic device having a pivoted display
DE60214246T DE60214246T2 (en) 2002-03-21 2002-03-21 MOBILE ELECTRONIC DEVICE WITH A SWIVEL DISPLAY
EP02713090A EP1486052B1 (en) 2002-03-21 2002-03-21 Mobile electronic device having a pivoted display
PCT/IB2002/000833 WO2003081880A1 (en) 2002-03-21 2002-03-21 Mobile electronic device having a pivoted display
CNB028282914A CN100496058C (en) 2002-03-21 2002-03-21 Mobile electronic apparatus with pivoted display element
US10/395,016 US7197346B2 (en) 2002-03-21 2003-03-21 Mobile electronic device having pivotable display element

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EP (1) EP1486052B1 (en)
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AU2002244876A1 (en) 2003-10-08
US20040058703A1 (en) 2004-03-25
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CN1620797A (en) 2005-05-25
US7197346B2 (en) 2007-03-27
EP1486052A1 (en) 2004-12-15
EP1486052B1 (en) 2006-08-23
CN100496058C (en) 2009-06-03

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