U.S. patent application number 12/123206 was filed with the patent office on 2009-06-11 for mobile communications device having moveable housings.
Invention is credited to Jon D. Friedman, Luke G. Williams.
Application Number | 20090149223 12/123206 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40722181 |
Filed Date | 2009-06-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090149223 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Friedman; Jon D. ; et
al. |
June 11, 2009 |
Mobile Communications Device having Moveable Housings
Abstract
Mobile communications devices are described. In an
implementation, a mobile communications device includes a first
housing that is approximately square and that includes a display
device. The mobile communications device also includes a second
housing that is approximately square, includes a keyboard and is
rotatable with respect to the first housing at respective corners
of the first and second housing. The second housing is rotatable
with respect to the first housing between a first configuration in
which the first housing substantially covers the second housing
such that the keyboard is covered and a second configuration in
which the keyboard is exposed.
Inventors: |
Friedman; Jon D.; (Seattle,
WA) ; Williams; Luke G.; (New York, NY) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Microsoft Corporation;Patent Group Docketing Dept.
One Microsoft Way
Redmond
WA
98052
US
|
Family ID: |
40722181 |
Appl. No.: |
12/123206 |
Filed: |
May 19, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60992608 |
Dec 5, 2007 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
455/566 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 64/00 20130101;
H04M 1/72436 20210101; H04M 1/72454 20210101; H04M 1/72409
20210101; H04M 1/7246 20210101 |
Class at
Publication: |
455/566 |
International
Class: |
H04B 1/38 20060101
H04B001/38 |
Claims
1. A mobile communications device comprising: a first housing that
is approximately square and that includes a display device; and a
second housing that is approximately square, includes a keyboard
and is rotatable with respect to the first housing, at respective
corners of the first and second housings, between: a first
configuration in which the first housing substantially covers the
second housing such that the keyboard is covered; and a second
configuration in which the keyboard is exposed.
2. A mobile communications device as described in claim 1, wherein:
the first housing is substantially square along a plane that is
parallel to an outer surface of the display device; and the second
housing is substantially square along a plane that is parallel to
an outer surface of the keyboard.
3. A mobile communications device as described in claim 1, wherein
the first configuration results in a substantially square form
factor of the mobile communications device along a plane that is
parallel to an outer surface of the keyboard and an outer surface
of the display device.
4. A mobile communications device as described in claim 1, wherein
the second configuration results in a substantially rectangular
form factor of the mobile communications device.
5. A mobile communications device as described in claim 1, wherein
the display device is viewable when in the first configuration and
when in the second configuration.
6. A mobile communications device as described in claim 1, wherein
a plurality of keys of the keyboard is arranged accordingly to a
QWERTY configuration.
7. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the second housing is
further configured with a camera and an input device that is
manipulable by a user when in the first configuration to place the
camera in an operational mode.
8. A mobile communications device as described in claim 1, further
comprising one or more modules that are configured to provide
telephonic functionality.
9. A mobile communications device as described in claim 8, wherein
the telephonic functionality is configured to be accessed by a user
when in the first configuration and when in the second
configuration.
10. A mobile communications device as described in claim 1, further
comprising one or more modules that are configured to: display text
on the display device; and change orientation of the display of the
text with respect to the first housing when in the second
configuration in comparison with the first configuration.
11. A mobile communications device as described in claim 10,
wherein the orientation of the display of the text is changed by
rotating the display of the text approximately ninety degrees in
relation to the display device.
12. A mobile communications device comprising: a first housing; and
a second housing that: includes a keyboard; is moveable with
respect to the first housing between a first configuration that
exposes the keyboard and a second configuration that covers the
keyboard; includes a camera disposed on an opposing side of the
second housing from the keyboard; and an input device that is
manipulable by a user in the first and second configurations to
place the camera in an operational mode.
13. A mobile communications device as described in claim 12,
further comprising one or more modules that provide telephonic
functionality.
14. A mobile communications device as described in claim 12,
further comprising one or more modules that are configured to:
display text on the display device; and change orientation of the
display of the text with respect to the first housing when in the
second configuration in comparison with the first
configuration.
15. A mobile communications device comprising first and second
housings that are moveable with respect to each other in a
plurality of configurations such that: an orientation of a display
device on the first housing rotates with respect to the second
housing; and an orientation of text displayed on the display device
of the first housing with respect to the second housing matches in
at least two said configurations.
16. A mobile communications device as described in claim 15,
wherein the orientation of text displayed on the display device of
the first housing remains orientated with respect to the second
housing for at least three said configurations.
17. A mobile communications device as described in claim 15,
wherein the orientation of text displayed on the display device of
the first housing does not remain orientated with respect to the
second housing for at least one said configuration.
18. A mobile communications device as described in claim 15,
further comprising one or more modules that provide telephonic
functionality.
19. A mobile communications device as described in claim 15,
further comprising: a camera disposed on an opposing side of the
second housing from the keyboard; and an input device that is
manipulable by a user in first and second said configurations to
place the camera in an operational mode.
20. A mobile communications device as described in claim 15,
wherein: the first housing is approximately square; and the second
housing is approximately square and is rotatable with respect to
the first housing, at respective corners of the first and second
housings, to form the plurality of configurations.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.119(e) to U.S. Patent Application No. 60/992,608, filed Dec.
5, 2007 and titled "Devices, Features and Systems for Mobile
Communications", the entire disclosure of which is hereby
incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Mobile communications devices (e.g., wireless phones) have
become an integral part of everyday life. For example, a user
traditionally used mobile communications devices to place and
receive telephone calls when the user was away from a fixed
communication device, e.g., a house or office telephone. In some
instances, the mobile communications device became the primary
device via which the user communicated with other users as the user
became accustomed to the convenience and functionality of the
device.
[0003] Further, the communication techniques that may be employed
using a mobile communications device have increased. For example,
users were traditionally limited to telephone calls between mobile
communications devices. Advances were then made to provide a
variety of other communication techniques, e.g., text messaging and
email. However, inclusion of these additional communication
techniques on mobile communications devices having traditional form
factors may cause these devices to become unwieldy and less
suitable for mobile applications.
SUMMARY
[0004] Mobile communications devices are described. In an
implementation, a mobile communications device includes a first
housing that is approximately square and that includes a display
device. The mobile communications device also includes a second
housing that is approximately square, includes a keyboard and is
rotatable with respect to the first housing at respective corners
of the first and second housing. The second housing is rotatable
with respect to the first housing between a first configuration in
which the first housing substantially covers the second housing
such that the keyboard is covered and a second configuration in
which the keyboard is exposed.
[0005] In an implementation, a mobile communications device
includes a first housing and a second housing. The second housing
includes a keyboard and is movable with respect to the first
housing between a first configuration to expose the keyboard and a
second configuration that covers the keyboard. The second housing
includes a camera disposed on an opposing side of the second
housing from the keyboard and an input device that is manipulable
by a user in the first and second configurations to place the
camera in an operational mode.
[0006] In an implementation, a mobile communications device
includes first and second housings that are movable with respect to
each other in a plurality of configurations. The first and second
housings are movable such that an orientation of a display device
on the first housing rotates with respect to the second housing and
an orientation of text displayed on a display device of the first
housing with respect to the second housing in at least two of the
configurations matches.
[0007] This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of
concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in
the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify
key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter,
nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of
the claimed subject matter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] The detailed description is described with reference to the
accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a
reference number identifies the figure in which the reference
number first appears. The use of the same reference numbers in
different instances in the description and the figures may indicate
similar or identical items.
[0009] FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example implementation of an
example mobile communications device in accordance with one or more
embodiments of devices, features, and systems for mobile
communications.
[0010] FIG. 2 is an illustration of a system in an example
implementation showing in which a mobile communications device of
FIG. 1 keeps text displayed on a first housing orientated with
respect to a second housing when the first and second housings are
moved in relation to each other.
[0011] FIG. 3 is an illustration of an example implementation
showing the mobile communications device of FIGS. 1 and 2 in a side
view.
[0012] FIG. 4 is an illustration of an example implementation
showing the mobile communications device of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 as
having a QWERTY keyboard.
[0013] FIG. 5 is an illustration of an exemplary implementation of
the mobile communications device of FIGS. 1-4 in which camera
functionality is included.
[0014] FIG. 6 is an illustration of various components of an
example device that can be implemented in various embodiments as
any type of a mobile communication device to implement embodiments
of devices, features, and systems for mobile communications.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] Overview
[0016] Users continually desire increased functionality from mobile
communications devices, e.g., wireless phones, mobile messaging
devices, calendaring devices, and so on. For example, users may
maintain a calendar, a list of contacts, send and receive text
messages, access the Internet, send and receive email, take
pictures and so on. However, inclusion of this increased
functionality in traditional mobile communications devices may make
these devices more cumbersome and therefore less suitable to mobile
applications as traditionally configured.
[0017] Mobile communications devices having movable housings are
described. In one or more implementations, a square design language
is employed to configure a mobile communications device. For
example, the mobile communications device may have two housings
that are approximately square in shape and that are rotatable
(e.g., via a pivot), one to another. In this example, the first
and/or second housings may be rotated to form a first configuration
that is approximately square and a second configuration that is
approximately rectangular. In the first configuration, a first
housing may be used to cover a keyboard that is part of the second
housing. The keyboard disposed on the second housing may be exposed
in a second configuration, which is achieved by rotating the first
and/or second housings from the first configuration. In this way,
"open" and "closed" configurations may be provided using the pivot.
A variety of different keyboards may be employed, e.g., a
twelve-key traditional phone numeric pad, a full QWERTY keyboard,
and so on. Further discussion of rotation of the first and second
housings may be found in relation to FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0018] In one or more implementations, a mobile communications
device includes first and second housings that are movable with
respect to each other to form a plurality of configurations.
Continuing with the previous example, the first housing may be
rotated with respect to the second housing such that orientation of
a display device on the first housing rotates with respect to the
second housing. In this implementation, however, orientation of
text displayed on a display device of the first housing remains
orientated with respect to the second housing in at least two of
the configurations that were achieved by rotating the first and
second housings with respect to each other. For instance,
orientation of the text on the first housing with respect to the
second housing may match in an open and closed position of the
mobile communications device formed by rotating the first and
second housings.
[0019] For instance, the first housing may be rotated ninety
degrees with respect to the second housing. Consequently, a display
device on the first housing may also be rotated ninety degrees with
respect to the second housing. To keep text displayed on the
display device orientated with respect to the second housing (e.g.,
and a keyboard disposed on the second housing), the display of the
text may also be rotated ninety degrees. In this way, the display
of text and a keyboard remain orientated, one to another. Further
discussion of orientation of a display of data on a display device
may also be found in relation to FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0020] In one or more implementations, a mobile communications
device includes first and second housings which are movable with
respect to each other to assume first and second configurations.
The second housing includes a keyboard and a camera disposed on an
opposing side of the second housing from the keyboard. The second
housing also includes an input device that is manipulable by a user
in the first and second configurations to place the camera in an
operational mode. For example the first configuration may use the
first housing to cover the keyboard of the second housing. The
second configuration may involve rotation of the first and second
housings, one to another, from the first configuration such that
the keyboard of the second housing is exposed. Regardless of
whether the mobile communications device is in the first or second
configuration, the input device may be used to place the camera in
an operational mode, e.g., ready to capture an image. Further
discussion of the camera and the input device of the mobile
communications device may be found in relation to FIG. 5.
[0021] In the following discussion, a variety of example
implementations of a mobile communications device are shown.
Additionally, a variety of different functionality that may be
employed by the mobile communications device is described for each
example, which may be implemented in that example as well as in
other described examples. Accordingly, example implementations are
illustrated of a few of a variety of contemplated implementations.
Further, although a mobile communications device having one or more
modules that are configured to provide telephonic functionality are
described, a variety of other mobile communications devices are
also contemplated, such as dedicated messaging devices.
[0022] Example Implementations
[0023] FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example implementation 100
of a mobile communications device 102 in accordance with one or
more embodiments of devices, features, and systems for mobile
communications. The mobile communications device 102 is illustrated
as assuming a plurality of configurations, examples of which
include a first configuration 104, a second configuration 106 and a
third configuration 108.
[0024] The mobile communications device 102 is further illustrated
as including a first housing 110 and a second housing 112 that are
connected via a pivot 114 such that the first and second housing
may rotate, one to another. The first housing 110 includes a
display device 116 (e.g., a touchscreen) that may be used to output
a variety of data, such as a caller identification (ID),
information related to text messages as illustrated, email,
multimedia messages, Internet browsing, game play, music, video and
so on. The second housing 112 is illustrated as including a
keyboard 118 that may be used to provide inputs to the mobile
communications device 102.
[0025] In the example shown in FIG. 1, the first and second
housings 104, 106 of the mobile communications device 102 are
approximately square. For example, a plane defined by an outer
surface of the display device 116 may be parallel to a plane of the
first housing 104 that approximates a square, which may be the same
as or different from the plane defined by the display device 116.
In other words, the width and height of the plane taken from the
first housing 110 that is parallel to the other surface of the
display device 116 are approximately one-to-one, e.g., are
equilateral rectilinear. Likewise, the second housing 112 may be
considered approximately square along a plane that is parallel to
and/or is the same as an outer surface of the keyboard 118 disposed
within the second housing 112.
[0026] In the first configuration 104, the mobile communications
device 102 is closed such that the first housing 110 covers the
second housing 112. Consequently, the keyboard 118 disposed on the
second housing 112 is covered and is not available to receive input
from a user of the mobile communications device 102.
[0027] In the second configuration 106, the first housing 110 is
rotated "away" from the second housing 112 using the pivot 114.
Therefore, in the second configuration 106 at least a portion of
the keyboard 118 disposed on the second housing 112 is exposed.
[0028] In the third configuration 108, the first housing 110 has
been rotated ninety degrees with respect to the second housing 112.
In this example configuration, at least a majority of the keys of
the keyboard 118 is exposed such that the exposed keys are
available to receive inputs from a user. Accordingly, this
configuration may be considered an "open" configuration. Further,
the third configuration 108 results in a substantially rectangular
form factor of the mobile communications device 102 as contrasted
with a substantially square form factor of the mobile
communications device 102 in the first configuration 104. In an
implementation, the planes of the first and second housings 110,
112 that are used to define the square form factor are parallel to
each other, although other implementations are also
contemplated.
[0029] In the illustrated implementation 100, the display device
116 remains viewable by a user in each configuration, examples of
which are shown in the first configuration 104, the second
configuration 106 and the third configuration 108. In the first
configuration 104, example text "Text Message from Sara" is
illustrated as being displayed on the display device 116.
Additionally, the example text is illustrated as being orientated
with respect to the second housing 112, which in the illustrated
implementation 100 the example text and indications of functions of
the keyboard 118 (e.g., numbers and/or letters) are aligned,
generally.
[0030] In the second configuration 106, the example text is
illustrated as following rotation of the display device 116 and the
first housing 110. Consequently, the example text is not orientated
with respect to the second housing 112 as was shown for the first
configuration 104 of the mobile communications device 102. For
instance, the orientation of the text in the second configuration
106 is not aligned with the keyboard 118.
[0031] In the third configuration 108, the example text is again
illustrated as orientated with respect to the second housing 112 as
was previously shown and described in relation to the first
configuration 104. For instance, example text "Text Message from
Sara" displayed on the display device 116 is approximately aligned
with the keyboard 118, e.g., communications of text for respective
keys of the keyboard 118. Thus, although the orientation of the
display device 116 is rotated ninety degrees with respect to the
orientation of the second housing 112, the orientation of the
example text with respect to the second housing 112 remains as it
was for the first configuration 104 by also rotating a display of
example text of the display device 116 by ninety degrees. Thus, in
this manner a user of the mobile communications device 102 is
provided with a consistent and intuitive approach to interaction
with the mobile communications device in a plurality of
configurations, e.g., the first and third configurations 104, 108.
Although orientation of text on a display device has been described
in relation to FIG. 1 in two configurations, a variety of other
implementations are also contemplated, further discussion of which
may be found in relation to the following figure.
[0032] FIG. 2 illustrates an example embodiment 200 in which the
mobile communications device 102 keeps text displayed on a first
housing 110 orientated with respect to a second housing 112 when
the first and second housings 110, 112 are moved in relation to
each other. A plurality of configurations is illustrated in FIG. 2,
examples of which include a first configuration 202, a second
configuration 204, a third configuration 206 and a fourth
configuration 208.
[0033] In each of the first, second, third and fourth
configurations 202, 204, 206, 208, text displayed on the display
device 116 remains orientated with respect to the second housing
112. As previously described in relation to FIG. 1, for instance,
the text displayed on to display device 116 may be orientated with
the second housing 112 such that keys of the keyboard 118 are
aligned with the text and other images on the display device 116.
Thus, as shown in FIG. 2 at least three configurations are shown in
which the text (and other display images) is output as aligned with
the second housing 112. It should be readily apparent that a wide
variety of implementations are possible in which a wide range of
orientations are contemplated which may be less than or greater
than the number of orientations previously described. For example,
the display on the display device may be continually reoriented in
response to rotation of the first and second housings 110, 112 with
respect to each other, e.g., the first and/or second housings 110,
112 may be physically moved.
[0034] FIG. 3 illustrates an example implementation 300 showing the
mobile communications device 102 of FIGS. 1 and 2 in a side view.
As illustrated, the first housing 110 substantially covers the
second housing 112 such that the keyboard 118 of FIGS. 1 and 2 is
covered and therefore protected from inadvertent input,
contamination, and so on.
[0035] FIG. 4 illustrates an example implementation 400 showing the
mobile communications device 102 of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 as having a
QWERTY keyboard 402. As previously described in relation to FIG. 1,
the keyboard may assume a variety of configurations, which was
shown as a keyboard 118 having a twelve key numeric pad layout in
FIGS. 1 and 2 and which is shown in FIG. 4 as a keyboard 402 having
separate letters according to a QWERTY configuration. Thus, as is
readily apparent from the figures the square form factor may be
used to provide a wide range of input options in a compact manner
which may make the mobile communications device 102 particularly
well-suited for mobile applications and to support the wide range
of communications techniques previously described.
[0036] FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary implementation 500 of the mobile
communications device 102 of FIGS. 1-4 in which camera
functionality is included. A "back view" of the second housing 112
of the mobile communications device 102 is shown that includes a
camera 502 and a flash 504. In other words, a side of the second
housing 112 that is opposite to a side of the second housing 112
that includes the keyboard 118 of FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 is depicted.
[0037] The second housing 112 also includes an input device that is
manipulable by a user to place the camera 502 and/or the flash 504
in an operational mode, e.g., ready to capture one or more images.
In the example depicted in FIG. 5, the input device 506 is
configured as a dedicated hardware button that is movable between a
first position 508 the places the camera 502 in the operational
mode and a second position 510 in which the camera 502 is not
operational. In the illustrated implementation, the input device is
accessible by the user regardless of whether the mobile
communications device is in an "open" configuration or a "closed"
configuration, e.g., the first and third configurations 104, 108 of
FIG. 1, respectively. A variety of other devices of the mobile
communications device 102 may also be configured to include the
functionality of the input device 506, such as a microphone to
record speech.
[0038] FIG. 6 illustrates various components of an example device
600 that can be implemented in various embodiments as any type of a
mobile communication device to implement embodiments of devices,
features, and systems for mobile communications. For example,
device 600 can be implemented as any of the mobile communication
devices 102 described with reference to respective FIGS. 1-5.
Device 600 can also be implemented to access a network-based
service, such as a content service.
[0039] Device 600 includes input(s) 602 that may include Internet
Protocol (IP) inputs. Device 600 further includes communication
interface(s) 604 that can be implemented as any one or more of a
wireless interface, any type of network interface, and as any other
type of communication interface. A network interface provides a
connection between device 600 and a communication network by which
other electronic and computing devices can communicate data with
device 600. A wireless interface enables device 600 to operate as a
mobile communication device for wireless communications.
[0040] Device 600 also includes one or more processors 606 (e.g.,
any of microprocessors, controllers, and the like) which process
various computer-executable instructions to control the operation
of device 600 and to communicate with other electronic devices.
Device 600 can be implemented with computer-readable media 608,
such as one or more memory components, examples of which include
random access memory (RAM) and non-volatile memory (e.g., any one
or more of a read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, EPROM, EEPROM,
etc.).
[0041] Computer-readable media 608 provides data storage to store
content and data 610, as well as device applications and any other
types of information and/or data related to operational aspects of
device 600. For example, an operating system 612 can be maintained
as a computer application with the computer-readable media 608 and
executed on processor(s) 606. Device applications can also include
a communication manager module 614 (which may be used to provide
telephonic functionality) and a media manager 616.
[0042] Device 600 also includes an audio and/or video output 618
that provides audio and/or video data to an audio rendering and/or
display system 620. The audio rendering and/or display system 620
can be implemented as integrated component(s) of the example device
600, and can include any components that process, display, and/or
otherwise render audio, video, and image data. Device 600 can also
be implemented to provide a user tactile feedback, such as vibrate
and haptics.
[0043] Generally, the blocks may be representative of modules that
are configured to provide represented functionality. Further, any
of the functions described herein can be implemented using
software, firmware (e.g., fixed logic circuitry), manual
processing, or a combination of these implementations. The terms
"module," "functionality," and "logic" as used herein generally
represent software, firmware, or a combination of software and
firmware. In the case of a software implementation, the module,
functionality, or logic represents program code that performs
specified tasks when executed on a processor (e.g., CPU or CPUs).
The program code can be stored in one or more computer readable
memory devices. The features of the techniques described above are
platform-independent, meaning that the techniques may be
implemented on a variety of commercial computing platforms having a
variety of processors.
[0044] Although the invention has been described in language
specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is
to be understood that the invention defined in the appended claims
is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts
described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as
example forms of implementing the claimed invention.
* * * * *