U.S. patent number RE43,370 [Application Number 09/946,067] was granted by the patent office on 2012-05-08 for communication device with two modes of operation.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Nokia Corporation. Invention is credited to Arto Lehtonen, Jarmo Makela, Risto Ronkka, Lasse Siitonen, Veli-Matti Soini.
United States Patent |
RE43,370 |
Makela , et al. |
May 8, 2012 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
Communication device with two modes of operation
Abstract
The invention relates to a mobile station which comprises two
separate user interfaces and an outer covering (10, 11) which can
be unfolded. The device has the appearance and the size of a common
mobile phone when the outer covering (10, 11) is closed, whereby
available is a first user interface being substantially a telephone
user interface. When the outer covering (10, 11) of the device is
unfolded it exposes a second user interface having a relatively
large-sized display (12) and an alphanumeric keypad (15).
Alphanumeric messages and graphical information can be transmitted
and received using the second user interface.
Inventors: |
Makela; Jarmo (Tampere,
FI), Lehtonen; Arto (Kangasala, FI), Soini;
Veli-Matti (Toijala, FI), Siitonen; Lasse
(Tampere, FI), Ronkka; Risto (Tampere,
FI) |
Assignee: |
Nokia Corporation (Espoo,
FI)
|
Family
ID: |
8544441 |
Appl.
No.: |
09/946,067 |
Filed: |
September 4, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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Reissue of: |
08654846 |
May 29, 1996 |
6047196 |
Apr 4, 2000 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
Current U.S.
Class: |
455/556.1;
455/556.2; 455/566; 455/575.3; 455/414.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F
1/1671 (20130101); G06F 1/1692 (20130101); G06F
1/1616 (20130101); H04M 1/0214 (20130101); H04M
1/72403 (20210101); G06F 1/1647 (20130101); H04M
1/7243 (20210101); H04M 1/0247 (20130101); H04M
2250/58 (20130101); H04M 2250/18 (20130101); H04M
2250/70 (20130101); H04M 2250/22 (20130101); H04M
2250/16 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H04M
1/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;455/90,128,556,575,557,95,556.2,566,575.5,414.1,425,550.1,575.1,556.1,90.3,347-350,575.8,575.3
;361/616,667,724-727,747,769 ;429/97,100 ;439/500
;379/433,434,428,433.01-433.13,447,428.01-428.04,440 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
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Other References
Japanese Office Action transmission dated Dec. 28, 2009. cited by
other .
Extended European Search Report dated Apr. 15, 2010. cited by other
.
Japanese Office Action dated Mar. 3, 2011 English Translation Only.
cited by other.
|
Primary Examiner: Rego; Dominic E.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Harrington & Smith
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A portable communication device (4) for transmitting information
in electrical form between a user and a certain data communication
system, characterized in that it comprises: an outer covering (10,
11) including upper and lower halves which can be moved between a
folded condition and an unfolded condition by actions of the user,
said lower half (11) containing the heaviest structural parts of
said portable communication device including a microphone (5), a
speaker (6), and sound channelling means for directing sound to the
microphone .Iadd.and .Iaddend.from the speaker, said lower half
(11) being substantially heavier than said upper half (10); and in
order to realize the interaction between said communication device
(4) and the user, as separate items: a first user interface .[.in
said lower half (11).]. with first input means (5, 7, 8) and first
indicator means (9); and a second user interface .[.in said upper
half (10).]. with second input means (13, 14, 15, 16, 17) and
second indicator means (12); of which said first user interface
comprises parts (5, 6, 7, 8, 9), which are located substantially on
the outer surface of said outer covering (10, 11), so that they can
be used .[.when said upper and lower halves are in the folded
condition,.]. .Iadd.without unfolding said outer cover,
.Iaddend.and of which said second user interface comprises parts
(12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17), which are located substantially inside
said outer covering (10, 11), so that they can be used when said
.[.upper and lower halves are in the unfolded condition.].
.Iadd.outer covering is unfolded.Iaddend., said portable
communication device being balanced for firm placement of said
lower half .[.(11).]. of said outer covering on a substantially
flat level surface, with said upper half .[.(12).]. of said outer
covering positioned such that the included angle between said lower
half and said higher half is less than 180.degree..
2. A communication device (4) according to claim 1, characterized
in that said first and second user interfaces can be used
independently of each other.
3. A communication device (4) according to claim 1, characterized
in that said first user interface is substantially a telephone user
interface for the two-way transmission of speech and comprises
sound channelling means (5, 6) for directing sound to a microphone
and from a speaker, and keys (7, 8) to control the operation of the
device (4) and to enter data into the device.
4. A communication device (4) according to claim 3, characterized
in that said outer surface of said outer covering comprises a first
side and a second side, and said sound channelling means (5, 6) are
located on said first side and said keys (7, 8) are located on said
second side.
5. A communication device (4) according to claim 1, characterized
in that said outer covering (10, 11) comprises a first part (10)
and a second part (11) which are substantially equally large in
cross section and connected to each other by a hinge joint, so that
they are located substantially against each other when said outer
covering is closed, an so that in order to unfold said outer
covering they are turned apart around the rotational axis of said
hinge joint.
6. A communication device (4) according to claim 1, characterized
in that said second user interface comprises a display (12) for the
presentation of alphanumeric and/or graphical information, and keys
(13, 14, 15, 16, 17) to control the operation of the device and to
enter data into the device.
7. A communication device (4) according to claim 6, characterized
in that said first part (10) comprises said display (12), and that
said second part (11) comprises the largest part of said keys (15,
16, 17).
8. A communication device (4) according to claim 6, characterized
in that said second user interface comprises at least one scrolling
key (13) for scrolling the information in said display (12).
9. A communication device (4) according to claim 6, characterized
in that said second user interface comprises at east one command
key (14) for entering commands to the device with the depression of
one key.
10. A communication device (4) according to claim 6 characterized
in that it comprises means for the execution of application
programs and that said second user interface comprises application
keys (16) for the selection of a certain application program with
the depression of one key.
11. A communication device (4) according to claim 6, characterized
in that it comprises a fax modem for transmitting and receiving
telefaxes through said communication system.
12. A communication device (4) according to claim 6, characterized
in that said display (12) comprises means for the communication of
graphical information to the device (4) by touching said display
(12) at a specified position.
13. A communication device (4) according claim 1, characterized in
that said second user interface comprises about 30 character keys
(15), which are arranged substantially as according to a certain
established keyboard order.
14. A portable communication device (4) for transmitting
information in electrical form between a user and a certain data
communication system, characterized in that it comprises separate
first and second user interfaces in order to realize the
interaction between said communication device (4) and the user, of
which said first user interface is substantially a telephone user
interface for the two-way transmission of speech and comprises
sound channelling means for directing sound to a microphone (5) and
from a speaker (6), and first input means (7, 8) to control the
operation of the device (4) and to enter data into the device and
first indicator means (9), and of which the second user interface
comprises second input means (13, 14, 15, 16, 17) and second
indicator means (12) and further including an outer covering (10,
11) including upper and lower halves which can be unfolded by
actions of the user, said lower half (11) containing the heaviest
structural parts of said portable communication device including a
microphone (5), a speaker (6), and sound channelling means for
directing sound to the microphone .Iadd.and .Iaddend.from the
speaker, said lower half (11) being substantially heavier than said
upper half (10), said portable communication device being balanced
for firm placement of said lower half of said outer covering on a
substantially flat level surface, with said upper half of said
outer covering positioned such that the included angle between said
lower half and said higher half is less than 180.degree..
15. A communication device (4) according to claim 14, characterized
in that it comprises an outer covering (10, 11) which can be
unfolded by actions of the user, and that said first user interface
comprises parts (5, 6, 7, 8, 9), which are located substantially on
the outer surface of said outer covering (10, 11), so that they can
be used without unfolding said outer cover, and that said second
user interface comprises parts (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17), which are
located substantially inside said outer covering (10, 11), so that
they can be used when said outer covering is unfolded.
16. A communication device (4) according to claim 15, characterized
in that said sound channelling means (5, 6) are located in a first
part of said outer covering and said first input means (7, 8) are
located in a second part of said outer covering.
17. A communication device (4) according to claim 14, characterized
in that said first and second user interfaces can be used
independently of each other.
Description
The present invention relates generally to personal electrical
communication devices and particularly to a mobile station which
can transmit both speech and alphanumeric messages.
Mobile phones acting as cellular system terminal devices have
rapidly become quite common, and we can assume that in the future
almost everybody will have a communication device, which is
suitable to be carried anywhere and with which it is possible to
call other corresponding devices within the coverage area of the
respective system, on a world-wide basis when required. For the
present a major part of the mobile phones have been expressly
telephones, or in the first place they were intended to transmit
speech connections. In digital systems it has become possible to
transmit also short alphanumeric messages between the mobile
phones. Another story completely are the wire-connected
combinations formed by a mobile phone, a data interface and a
portable computer, which can be used to transmit through the
cellular system any digital data processed by the computer.
From the publication "Portable Communication" by Peter E. Jackson
and David A. Deas, Proceedings of the National Communications
Forum, 42 (1988), Sept. 30, No. 2, Chicago, Ill., USA, it is known
a personal message communication device according to FIG. 1, where
a device 1 resembling a modern mobile phone has both a numerical
keypad 2 and an character keypad 3. From the text of the
publication it is evident that it expressly refers to a mobile
terminal of a wide-area communication system, where the terminal
can freely move within the coverage area of the system and where
the system monitors the terminal's position so that it can
correctly route calls to a certain terminal device. In said
reference publication the device 1 is presented at an outline
level, and there is no detailed description of its structure or
functioning. The usability of the presented device is particularly
complicated by the small size of the keypads, which obviously was
used aiming at generally small overall dimensions.
From the patent publication U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,346 it is known a
mobile phone having a numerical keypad which can be turned to one
side, revealing a larger alphanumeric keypad below it. However, in
such a solution the display of the device must be made so small
that only a very short alphanumeric message will fit in it, in
order to have a size which is at least reasonably readable. In said
publication the object of the invention is said to be a mobile
phone, which can include an electronic notebook function, and it is
proposed that the power supply to the device's radio sections is
switched off when the notebook function is used. Corresponding
solutions are known from several television remote controls,
whereby the user, by unfolding the outer covering of the device or
a part of it, can enlarge that user interface, e.g. the keypad, of
which only a small part is visible when the outer covering is
closed.
The objective of this invention is to present a personal mobile
station which can transmit information between users in a more
flexible way than earlier. An objective of the invention is also to
present a device of said type, which is easy to use and well suited
as a mobile terminal of a cellular system. A further objective of
the invention is to present a device which can transmit both voice
and versatile graphical information between users.
The objectives of the invention are achieved by a device comprising
the radio sections of a cellular system terminal and comprising two
separate user interfaces, of which the first is intended for the
transmission of telephone services and the second for the
transmission of alphanumeric messages and other services requiring
graphical information. The first user interface is located on the
outer surface of the device and the second within the device, so
that it can be exposed by unfolding the device in at least two
parts, in a way intended for this purpose.
The portable communication device according to the invention is
characterized in that it comprises a separate first user interface
and a separate second user interface to realize the interaction
between said communication device and the user, whereby said first
user interface comprises first input means and first indicator
means and said second user interface comprises second input means
and second indicator means. The communication device of another
embodiment according to the invention is characterized in that it
comprises a separate first user interface and a separate second
user interface to realize the interaction between said
communication device and the user, whereby said first user
interface is substantially a telephone used interface for the
transmission of two-way speech and comprises a microphone, a
speaker and first input means to control the operation of the
device and to enter data into the device, and whereby said second
user interface comprises second input means and indicator
means.
During the development work leading to the invention we observed
that when we continuously try to reduce the size of the mobile
stations the small outer dimensions already begin to complicate the
use of the devices. The user interface, or a certain entirety
formed by parts which are designed for the interaction between a
user and the device, should be designed so that regardless of the
small size of the device itself a clumsy user, even with large
hands, can manage the depression of buttons and other required
operations without the training of a watchmaker. The disadvantages
of the small size are particularly clearly seen in the device
according to FIG. 1 representing the prior art and having buttons
only a few millimeters wide and spaced about one millimeter from
each other, judging from the size of the pencil which is shown to
illustrate the scale.
The mobile station according to the invention has two separate user
interfaces, which are independent regarding the use of the mobile
station, i.e. they can be used independently of each other. The
first user interface is located on the outer surface of the device
and resembles the user interface of present-day mobile phones with
a microphone, a speaker, a keypad and a small alphanumeric display.
It is intended to be used in the same way as known user interfaces
of present-day mobile phones. Because the whole outer surface of
the device is available for the realization of this user interface,
it can be made large enough so that it is easy to use. However, it
is preferable that the keyboard and display means of the first user
interface are located on only one side of the outer surface, so
that they can be controlled with one glance. In order to use the
second user interface the mobile station according to the invention
can be opened by unfolding preferably two halves hinged to each
other and having at their inner surfaces a larger display, a
complete alphanumeric keypad and function keys, which then become
visible and available to the user. A space with the size of two
times the cross section of the device is available to realize the
second user interface, whereby it also can be made large enough to
make it easy to use, as was emphasized above.
Below the invention will be described in more detail with reference
to the preferred embodiments shown as examples and to the enclosed
figures, in which:
FIG. 1 shows a prior art mobile station;
FIG. 2 shows schematically the first user interface of a mobile
station according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 3 shows schematically the second user interface of a mobile
station according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 4 shows in more detail a part of the user interface shown in
FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 shows in a perspective view another preferred embodiment of
the invention; and
FIG. 6 shows in a perspective view a further preferred embodiment
of the invention.
Above we referred to FIG. 1 when describing prior art, and thus in
the description of the invention and its preferred embodiments we
refer mainly to FIGS. 2 to 6. In the figures we use the same
reference numbers for corresponding parts.
FIG. 2 shows schematically a mobile station 4 according to the
invention seen from above, so that its first user interface is
visible. The presented first user interface is quite similar to
that of present-day mobile phones according to prior art, of which
we can mention as an example the GSM phone model 2110 manufactured
by Nokia Mobile Phones Ltd. The first user interface comprises a
microphone 5, a speaker 6, a numerical keypad 7, control keys 8 and
a rather small alphanumeric display 9. They are realized with
components similar to those of prior art mobile phones, and they
are used to create a telephone connection through the cellular
radio system to another mobile station, in the same way as in known
mobile phones. With them it is further possible to realize certain
supplementary functions of call set-up, such as finding telephone
numbers and names in the memory of the mobile station. The first
user interface according to the invention can comprise also other
parts than those of the embodiment example shown in FIG. 2, but
they will not substantially change the purpose nor the use of the
interface.
In order to expose the second user interface the mobile station 4
according to the invention is opened. FIG. 3 shows a mobile station
4 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention when it is
unfolded, so that its two halves 10 and 11 hinged along the long
side are turned so that they form an angle over 90 degrees,
preferably to an angle of 135 degrees. The opening angle is
determined by the fact that when the device is unfolded it should
be as easy to use as possible: the keypad parts of the second user
interface should be easily accessible and according to their design
the display parts should be located in an optimal angle relative
the direction of the user's eyes when the device is in a typical
position of use, e.g. in the lap or on a table. It is further
advantageous that the mobile station 4 according to the invention
will remain, also when it unfolded, in a certain position on a
table or any other even surface, which has an effect on the opening
angle. In another preferred embodiment the halves 10 and 11 can be
turned 180 degrees relative each other, whereby a plate-like
structure is obtained.
In the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 3 the first half 10
comprises on its visible side a display 12, which occupies almost
the whole area of the half 10. On the edge areas outside the
display the half 10 comprises scrolling keys 13 and command keys
14. In this embodiment the second half 11 comprises only keys. The
largest group of keys forms a complete alphanumeric keypad, or a so
called QWERTY keyboard 15, in which the alphanumeric keys are
preferably in the same standard order that is used in the keyboards
of computers and typewriters. This is an advantage because the user
doesn't have to learn any new key order, characteristic of the
device according to the invention. Further the second half 11
preferably comprises application keys 16, on which there can be
seen the names of certain applications, and four arrow keys 17.
The large-sized display 12 shown in FIG. 3 preferably is a liquid
crystal display, having a resolution of e.g. 640.times.200 picture
elements or pixels. The manufacturing of such displays is a
technology known per se. The display 12 can be provided with a
touch sensitive film or any corresponding arrangement known per se,
with the aid of which it can be used as a data input device by
touching its surface at certain points. All keys 13, 14, 15, 16, 17
shown in FIG. 3 are preferably push buttons of the same type as the
keys used in present-day mobile phones and/or in so called palmtop
or hand-held computers.
Below we describe the purpose and the use of the different key
groups. The scrolling keys 13 are intended to move the selection
bar in the display, in other words, when the display 12 during use
shows a list of optional alternatives and one or several of them
are objects to be selected at a time, the selection mark (or marks)
showing this will move forwards or backwards when the scrolling
keys 13 are depressed. The command keys 14 are so called program
dependent keys (softkeys), in other words each of them can select a
certain command, which is shown in the display 12 at the location
of the respective command key 14. The commands can vary according
to the functional status of the device and the program controlling
the device. In the preferred embodiment certain often used
commands, such as "delete" and "close", are preferably always
associated with the same command key 14.
The alphanumeric keys 15 are used to enter alphanumeric characters
to the device 4. The same keypad can be used to enter messages in
different languages, even when different languages require certain
special characters. They are preferably generated so that several
characters, e.g. a-a-{dot over (a)}, are assigned to certain keys,
so that each character in its turn appears in the display 12 when
the user has pushed the respective alphanumeric key and then pushes
once or more times a certain special key, a so called "character"
key. Another alternative is that each character a-a-{dot over (a)}
assigned to a certain alphanumeric key is displayed in sequence
when the user rapidly pushes the respective key several times in a
sequence, or keeps the key continuously depressed. It is obvious to
a person skilled in the art that also other corresponding methods
can be used to assign several characters to the same alphanumeric
key. Preferably the keypad 15 has indications about which special
characters are assigned to each key.
The application keys 16 are preferably associated with the
selection of certain applications, for instance so that when the
user depresses a certain application key he sets the device in a
state where he can begin the transmission of an alphanumeric
message, and when he depresses a certain other application key the
state changes so that he can update telephone numbers stored in the
memory means (not shown in the figures) of the device 4, and so on.
Certain shortcut functions, or macros, can also be assigned to
certain application keys 16, such as "delete 10 oldest messages in
the memory" or corresponding functions. One application key could
be a so called special function key, the depression of which opens
more applications. Thus the number of application keys 16 will not
limit the number of possible applications used in the device 4. In
a preferred embodiment the execution of each application is
continued from that point where it was interrupted when said
application was last active. With the aid of the arrow keys 17 the
user can control the cursor moving in the display 12, or supply the
device 4 with other information relating to graphical functions,
e.g. draw simple line drawings.
FIG. 4 shows in an embodiment example how the display 12 is divided
into functional regions. At the center of the display there is an
input and output region 18, which is used to communicate
alphanumeric and other graphic information to the user. For
example, the text will be displayed in this region when the user
writes an alphanumeric message and intends to transmit it to
another user. Correspondingly, the device displays the contents of
the message in the input and output region 18 when the device 4 has
received a message containing graphical information and the user
wants to read said message. At the right edge of the display 12
there is a command region 19, which typically displays commands
corresponding to the command keys 14 which are outside the edge of
the display 12 and shown in FIG. 3. Then the user will know which
command execution corresponds to a depression of each command key
14. The left border region 20 of the display 12 can contain a list
of optional actions which can be scrolled using the scrolling keys
13. The region 20 can preferably also be used as an indicator
region, which by simple symbols presents to the user information
about the device 4, such as the charge status of the battery which
functions as the power supply (not shown in the figures), and the
cellular radio network's local field strength measured by the
device 4. The display can further show the time and the date, a
reminder of received messages, possibly the location of the device
within a certain rate area, and so on. The division of the display
12 into functional regions is presented only as an example and it
is obvious to a person skilled in the art that the display 12 can
also be divided in many other ways.
The use of the device 4 according to the invention is briefly
described below. The use of the device with the aid of the first
user interface shown in FIG. 2 in order to utilize the common
mobile phone services does not differ from the use of presently
known mobile phones, so that in the description below we mainly
discuss operation with the aid of the second user interface shown
in FIG. 3. The description is intended to be an example, and its
details do not limit the invention.
Let us assume that the user wants to send a text message to another
user with the device 4. First he unfolds the device 4 so that it is
in the position shown in FIG. 3. He starts a function called
"message transmission" by depressing a certain application key 16,
whereby a list of commands is displayed at the right edge region 19
of the display 12 containing items Receiver, Message, Transmit. The
user depresses that command key 14 at which there is the Receiver
command, whereby he will be able to scroll a list of receiver names
and connection numbers stored in the memory means of the device.
The user selects a certain receiver with the arrow keys 17 and then
he depresses the command key 14 at which there is the Message
command. Now using the keypad 15 he can enter a desired
alphanumeric message in the display 12. With a sharp pointed
drawing tool he can also draw on the surface of the display figures
accompanying the message, if the display 12 is provided with a
touch sensitive film. At the same time the message is stored in the
device's memory means, from where it can be read during the
transmission step.
When the user considers the message to be complete he depresses the
command key for the Send command, or e.g. a certain application key
16 with a function specified as transmission of the message. The
microprocessor (not shown in the figures) controlling the operation
of the device 4 reads from the memory means the message written
and/or drawn by the user and transforms it into a form in which it
can be transmitted through the cellular radio network. A transform
of this kind is known e.g. from present-day portable telefax
devices. A finished message is transmitted using the device's RF
sections (not shown in the figures) to the cellular radio network
and thence further to the receiver's terminal device. A cellular
radio network base station (not shown in the figures) preferably
acknowledges the successful transmission of the message by sending
an acknowledgment message to the mobile station 4. The receiver's
terminal device can also automatically return information about a
successful reception of the message, whereby the device 4 can
notify the user about this, either automatically or as a response
to an inquiry made by the user using a certain application key
16.
If the user makes a mistake or acts in a way, which for any reason
is not allowed by the device 4, or which requires a specification,
the device preferably reports this in a "balloon" displayed in the
display 12 and telling the user what to do. A typical situation is
such where several telephone numbers have been stored for the same
receiver and the user must specify the number to which he primarily
wants the message to be sent.
The two user interfaces of the device 4 according to the invention,
which are separately shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, are independent in
that sense that the user can use them independently of each other.
However, the same internal parts related to the operation of the
device are used through them, such as the memory means, which store
a database containing receiver names and telephone numbers often
used by the user. In this way we avoid confusion which could be
caused by data that were updated in different ways through
different user interfaces. The invention does not limit a
simultaneous use of the user interfaces. For instance, during a
call the keypad and the display of the second user interface could
be used as an electrical notebook, in which the user can store
important information he gets during the call, or as a calendar, in
which the user during a call can check data relating to his time
schedule.
All auxiliary functions which are used in modern mobile phones
could of course be included in the device according to the
invention. The device can e.g. have a connector (not shown in the
figures), to which it is possible to connect a portable computer
through a data adapter in order to form a digital modem connection
through the radio medium in a cellular radio network. The device
can also have an internal fax modem, whereby it can send and
receive telefaxes, whereby the large-size display 12 facilitates
the writing and reading of the telefaxes. Further, because the
second user interface of the device 4 according to the invention
comprises a display 12 and a keypad 15, the device 4 can be
preferably used as a small computer terminal via a suitable data
communication path, whereby this terminal emulates e.g. a VT 100
terminal in a way known per se, when it is connected to another
computer. A preferable way to arrange the communication between the
device 4 according to the invention and a certain other device,
such as a PC or a printer, is to use an infra-red link, where both
the device 4 and the other device comprise infra-red receiving and
transmitting means. It is a well known technology per se to realize
a communication path based on the infra-red link between a mobile
station and a computer. For example, the programs stored in the
memory means of the device 4 can be updated through this link.
If the memory means and microprocessor of the device according to
the invention have a sufficiently high capacity, it is possible to
install in it also other applications which utilize the
characteristics of the device 4 as a small portable computer. An
example of such an auxiliary application could be a pocket
calculator program, which in view of the large display 12 would be
able to process mathematical information containing even
complicated graphical information, in the same way as e.g. the
known scientific calculators manufactured and marketed by
Hewlett-Packard Company. Another example of an auxiliary
application could be an electronic dictionary, which, from the
databases stored in the memory means of the device, could find
foreign language equivalents of words input by the keypad 15. The
device can also automatically or at the request of the user
translate simple messages e.g. into English when the device detects
that the country code of the receiver's telephone number represents
a country where English is spoken. Such auxiliary functions are
programmed processes known per se, which can be stored in the
memory means of the device 4 in such a format that can be executed
by the microprocessor controlling the operation of the device.
The stability of the device according to the invention, when opened
and placed on a table or a similar even surface during the use of
the second user interface, plays a significant role in the ease of
use that the user experiences. It is preferable that the second
half of the device, that is, the one which includes the large
alphanumerical keyboard that is visible when the device is open, is
heavy enough to keep the opened device balanced. A suitable
distribution of mass is achieved by placing a majority of the
heaviest structural parts in said second half. An advantageous
embodiment of the invention includes in the second half for example
the microphone and the speaker that functionally belong to the
telephone interface, as well as the radio frequency transceiver
parts and most of the electronics that realize the operations of
the second user interface. When reference is made in this patent
application to the fact that the telephone microphone and speaker
are parts of the first user interface (the telephone interface),
which is located substantially on the outer surface of the device,
it should be understood that the microphone and speaker may
actually be inside the device, as long as the outer surface has
suitable openings to act as means for channelling sound to the
microphone and from the speaker. In the embodiment described above
with the microphone and speaker in the second half, these openings
5 and 6 may be on the other side of the (closed) device than the
rest of the telephone interface parts 7, 8, like in FIG. 6.
According to the inventive idea related to the presented invention
a small-sized mobile phone can be provided with auxiliary functions
requiring a larger user interface, so that the device is foldable
and that the larger user interface is found within the device. With
reference to FIGS. 2 to 4 above we discussed an embodiment in which
the device unfolds as two parts. According to the same inventive
idea the device could also be made so that it unfolds in three
parts according to FIG. 5, or in still more parts in other
embodiments. For example in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 the
large display 12 of the device comprises two sections, whereby we
obtain a total display area, which corresponds to about twice the
cross section of the folded device, and still there is room for a
complete QWERTY keyboard 15. A person skilled in the art can easily
design further alternative embodiments, in which the display and
keypad sections are divided in different ways on the surfaces of
the unfolding sections of the device according to the
invention.
It is known that a user interface of the mobile phone type
corresponding to the first user interface of the invention
presented above can also be realized without a display. In one
embodiment of the present invention, where we aimed at minimal
production costs, the first user interface comprises only a
microphone, a speaker and a numerical keypad. The first user
interface could even be only a pager, whereby it does not contain
any microphone or speaker, but contains a small display. Then of
course it is not possible to make any calls with the device.
Speech, telefaxes and graphical information between users can be
communicated with the device according to the invention, which
already may be considered as quite versatile communication, taking
into account that the device according to the invention resembles a
common mobile phone regarding its size and appearance. The device
is easy to use, which is particularly enhanced by the fact that it
has a telephone user interface which is the same as in an ordinary
mobile phone, and the parts belonging to its user interfaces are of
a sufficiently large size. The familiar QWERTY order of the
alphanumeric keypad also represents the easy to use features.
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