U.S. patent number 7,221,330 [Application Number 10/316,146] was granted by the patent office on 2007-05-22 for folding terminal with slider to fix terminal in a flat unfolded configuration.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Nokia Corporation. Invention is credited to Andrea Finke-Anlauff.
United States Patent |
7,221,330 |
Finke-Anlauff |
May 22, 2007 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
Folding terminal with slider to fix terminal in a flat unfolded
configuration
Abstract
A user terminal combining touch-screen and keyboard
functionality, and also combining laptop and flat-pad layouts. The
flat-pad layout can be locked into place using sliding pieces. The
terminal comprises a base including a keyboard, a first display
screen attached to the base along a primary fold line, a second
display screen included in the base and located between the
keyboard and the primary fold line, and at least one sliding piece
for fixing the second display screen in a substantially flat
configuration with the first display screen and/or with another
part of the base. The first display screen, the second display
screen, and the keyboard have substantially the same width, in
order to fully utilize the width of the entire user terminal. This
user terminal has a simple mechanical structure, having less than
three fold lines, and the keyboard may be detached to reveal
additional screen space.
Inventors: |
Finke-Anlauff; Andrea
(Braunschweig, DE) |
Assignee: |
Nokia Corporation (Espoo,
FI)
|
Family
ID: |
32468843 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/316,146 |
Filed: |
December 9, 2002 |
Prior Publication Data
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|
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20040108968 A1 |
Jun 10, 2004 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
345/1.1; 345/156;
345/169 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F
1/1616 (20130101); G06F 1/1647 (20130101); G06F
1/1669 (20130101); G06F 1/1679 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G09G
5/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;345/1.1-1.3,2.2,156-169,173-180 ;178/18.01-18.07,19.01-19.06 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Shankar; Vijay
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An apparatus comprising: a base including a keyboard; a first
display screen attached to the base along a primary fold line; a
second display screen included in the base and located at least
between the keyboard and the primary fold line; and at least one
sliding piece for fixing the first display screen and the second
display screen in a substantially flat configuration in which the
first display screen and the second display screen form a
substantially flat surface, wherein the at least one sliding piece
comprises two sliders for sliding into positions at opposite ends
of the primary fold line so as to fix the base and the first
display screen in the substantially flat configuration, and wherein
the two sliders are for sliding along lines substantially parallel
to each other and substantially perpendicular to the primary fold
line.
2. An apparatus comprising: a base including a keyboard; a first
display screen attached to the base along a primary fold line; a
second display screen included in the base and located at least
between the keyboard and the primary fold line; and at least one
sliding piece for fixing the first display screen and the second
display screen in a substantially flat configuration in which the
first display screen and the second display screen form a
substantially flat surface wherein the at least one sliding piece
is for sliding substantially perpendicularly to the primary fold
line.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first display screen, the
second display screen, and the keyboard have substantially the same
width, and wherein the user apparatus has less than three fold
lines.
4. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a secondary fold
line located between the keyboard and the second display screen,
wherein the at least one sliding piece is sufficiently long to fix
both the primary fold line and the secondary fold line in a
substantially flat configuration.
5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the second display screen has
a functionality that depends at least upon whether the apparatus is
in the substantially flat configuration.
6. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein, at least in a configuration
different from the substantially flat configuration, the second
display screen is for displaying secondary items, and wherein the
secondary items include a plurality elected from the group
consisting of: tools, phone status, desktop, and subset of
desktop.
7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein, at least in the configuration
different from the substantially flat configuration, the second
display screen has functionality for displaying a further plurality
selected from the group consisting of: connectivity status, inbox
status, new ticker, shortcuts, additional open applications, and
notes.
8. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the apparatus in the
substantially flat configuration has at least a touch mode option
in which the first display screen and the second display screen
appear as one big screen responsive to touch.
9. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein a pointer or cursor is freely
movable between the first display screen and the second display
screen.
10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the apparatus in any
configuration has laptop mode option requiring use of the
keyboard.
11. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the apparatus in any
configuration has a laptop mode option requiring use of the
keyboard.
12. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising a trackball or
finger pad for moving the pointer or cursor.
13. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the keyboard is a QWERTY
keyboard having only one button to the left of the Q button and
having only one button to the right of the P button, and wherein
the button to the left of Q and the button to the right of P have
respective widths less than or equal to the width of the Q
button.
14. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the primary fold line is also
a line of detachability.
15. A sliding piece for sliding along a side of a portable folding
user terminal, and for fixing at least part of the portable folding
user terminal in a flat unfolded configuration, the sliding piece
comprising: at least one finger contact surface; and at least one
terminal contact surface, wherein the sliding piece is for sliding
substantially perpendicularly to a fold line of the user
terminal.
16. The sliding piece of claim 15, wherein the at least one contact
surface is shaped for gripping the side of the portable folding
user terminal.
17. The sliding piece of claim 15, wherein the at least one contact
surface is shaped for anchoring the at least one finger contact
surface to the side of the portable folding user terminal.
18. The sliding piece of claim 15, wherein the sliding piece is
substantially symmetric with respect to its lengthwise axis.
19. The sliding piece of claim 15, wherein the sliding piece has a
left terminal contact surface for contacting the left side of the
terminal, and a right terminal contact surface for contacting the
right side of the terminal, and a bridging piece for linking the
left terminal contact surface with the right terminal contact
surface.
20. An apparatus comprising: a base including a keyboard; a first
display screen attached to the base along a primary fold line; a
second display screen included in the base and located at least
between the keyboard and the primary fold line; and at least one
slide for supporting a sliding piece that is for fixing the second
display screen in a substantially flat configuration in relation to
the keyboard or the first display screen wherein the at least one
slide is substantially perpendicularly to the primary fold
line.
21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the keyboard is detachable,
and wherein the apparatus is operable both when the keyboard is
attached and when the keyboard is detached.
22. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the keyboard is detachable,
and wherein the apparatus is operable both when the keyboard is
attached and when the keyboard is detached.
23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein detachment of the keyboard
reveals an exposed area of the base, and wherein the exposed area
of the base includes at least one feature available to the user
when the apparatus is operable.
24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the at least one feature
comprises a supplemental portion of the second display screen or an
additional display screen.
25. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the keyboard and the second
display screen are separated by a secondary fold line.
26. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the primary fold line is
also a line of detachability.
27. An apparatus comprising: a first means, for including a
keyboard; a second means, for displaying, the second means being
attached along a primary fold line to the first means; a third
means, for displaying, the third means being included in the first
means, and the third means being located at least between the
keyboard and the primary fold line; and at least one additional
means, for sliding, the at least one additional means also being
for fixing the second means and the third means in a substantially
flat configuration in which the second means and the third means
form a substantially flat surface, wherein the at least one
additional means is for sliding substantially perpendicularly to
the primary fold line.
28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the second means, the third
means, and the keyboard have substantially the same width, and
wherein the apparatus has less than three fold lines.
29. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising a secondary fold
line located between the keyboard and the third means, wherein the
at least one additional means is sufficiently long to fix both the
primary fold line and the secondary fold line in a substantially
flat configuration.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to the field of computer
terminals, and more particularly to computer terminals arrangeable
for portable use and communication, commonly known as laptops.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Existing laptop-style computers or communication terminals are
convenient to carry if they are small, but such devices can become
difficult to use when they are too small. Typically, one of these
devices includes a screen part that folds down on a keyboard part,
along a primary fold line. If the screen is too small, the screen
becomes difficult to read and can be harmful to eyesight. This
problem of size reduction without visual drawbacks is a major
challenge for makers of portable computers or terminals. One recent
contribution to this field is the pocket computer of Katz (U.S.
Pat. No. 6,088,220), wherein both the keyboard and the display
screen have fold lines. However, a device with multiple fold lines,
such as the Katz invention, is more difficult and expensive to
construct than a device having only one or two fold lines. So, the
problem remains how to make a small laptop-type device with only
one or two fold lines, without jeopardizing the user's
eyesight.
It is well-known that portable computers or terminals can operate
in a touch mode, for example using a finger or stylus to directly
contact the screen, in which case the screen is responsive to
touch. Such a device is described by Hawkins et al. (U.S. Pat. No.
6,366,935), and may operate in touch mode, or in a more
conventional laptop mode requiring a keyboard. The combination of
keyboard and touch mode presents some problems that are not solved
by Hawkins. Especially when using the device in touch mode, it is
often desirable for the device to be in a flat position, much like
a conventional writing pad, and Hawkins describes such a
configuration in which the screen lies on top of the keyboard in
the pad mode--Hawkins' screen faces up instead of facing down as is
usual with laptops in the folded position. Hawkins' computer in its
folded position provides no protection for the screen, because the
screen is facing up. Also, Hawkins' screen can be no bigger than
the keyboard piece upon which the screen lies, and again this can
make the screen difficult to read and look at, unless the keyboard
piece is sufficiently large.
Some existing laptop devices have been designed in such a way that
the laptop's keyboard can be detached. For example, Kornmayer (U.S.
Pat. No. 6,437,773) features a detachable keyboard. This serves two
purposes in Kornmayer: first, removal of the keyboard from the
housing allows easy access to the housing for maintenance purposes;
second, operation of the keyboard at a greater distance from the
display may be advantageous from an ergonomic viewpoint. Similarly,
Horiuchi (U.S. application Ser. No. 20020047832) discloses a
detachable keyboard, so that a user having no special skills can
remove or insert the keyboard. This feature may be useful, for
example, when a keyboard having foreign characters is desired, or
when a keyboard becomes damaged and needs to be replaced; e.g. a
user may spill coffee on the keyboard and therefore order a
replacement keyboard. A problem with these prior art detachable
keyboards is that they do not offer the user additional
functionality, tools, or resources using the area of the terminal
that becomes exposed when the keyboard is removed. Katz, Hawkins,
Kornmayer, and Horiuchi are incorporated herein by reference in
their entireties, in order to facilitate a fuller understanding and
enablement of the present claimed invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a folding computer device that has a
screen bigger than the device in its folded position, and thus
solves the problem of reducing size without causing visual
problems. This is accomplished by having a screen split into two
parts that are joined at the device's primary fold line. The
keyboard and one of the screens are on the same piece of the
device, and thus are not separated by the primary fold line.
The present invention provides a helpful way to combine keyboard
with touch mode functionality. Because touch mode functionality
renders a flat device configuration desirable, the present
invention discloses a flat configuration, and sliding pieces for
fixing the device in that flat configuration. Thus, the two screens
unite in the flat configuration. When the sliding pieces slide away
to allow the device to be closed, no screen faces outward in an
unprotected folded position.
The user terminal of the present invention comprises a base
including a keyboard, a first display screen attached to the base
along the primary fold line, a second display screen included in
the base and located between the keyboard and the primary fold
line, and at least one sliding piece for fixing the base and the
first display screen in a substantially flat configuration in which
the first display screen, the second display screen, and the
keyboard form a substantially flat surface. In this invention, the
first display screen, the second display screen, and the keyboard
have substantially the same width, in order to fully utilize the
width of the entire user terminal. This user terminal has a
relatively simple and economical layout, having only one or two
fold lines.
Each of the sliding pieces is for sliding along a side of the
portable folding user terminal, and for fixing the portable folding
user terminal in a flat unfolded configuration. The sliding piece
comprises at least one finger contact surface, and at least one
terminal contact surface.
In some embodiments, the keyboard of the present invention is
detachable by the user. This provides the advantages of prior art
detachable keyboards, plus detachment of the present keyboard would
optionally reveal an exposed area of the base that includes at
least one feature available to the user when the terminal is
operable. For example, removal of the keyboard may expose a larger
display screen. Likewise, another embodiment of the present
invention has a primary fold line that is also a detachment line,
so that the user is able to carry only the base which includes the
keyboard and the second display screen. In this case, a secondary
fold line advantageously separates the keyboard from the second
display screen, and the sliding piece has sufficient length to
cover both fold lines at once.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become
readily apparent from the following description and drawings
wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a laptop device according to
the present invention, with two screens separated by a primary fold
line, and two sliding pieces;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the device of the present
invention in a flat unfolded configuration that is secured by the
two sliding pieces;
FIG. 3 is a top view of the present invention in the flat
configuration, showing the QWERTY keyboard;
FIG. 4A is a top view of a sliding piece in the flat
configuration;
FIG. 4B is a perspective view of a sliding piece in the flat
configuration;
FIG. 4C shows a sliding piece gripping a side of the user terminal
of the present invention.
FIG. 5A shows a sliding piece anchored to the user terminal of the
present invention.
FIG. 5B shows two connected sliding pieces attached to opposite
sides of the user terminal.
FIG. 6 shows a laptop device according to the present invention, in
a perspective view, with keyboard detached.
FIG. 7A shows a laptop device according to the present invention,
having two fold lines and one slider, in a folded
configuration.
FIG. 7B shows a laptop device according to the present invention,
having two fold lines and one slider, in a flat configuration.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Turning now to the drawings and considering FIG. 1 in particular,
we see that the user terminal 100 has a base 105 including a
keyboard 110. The terminal also has a first display screen 115, and
a primary fold line 120. In these respects, the user terminal of
FIG. 1 is similar to typical laptop computers. The primary fold
line typically operates by means of hinges, or some other flexible
device or material.
FIG. 1 also shows a second display screen 125 included in the base
105, between the keyboard 110 and the primary fold line 120. This
second screen 125 is available for tools, phone status,
mini-desktop applications, et cetera. FIG. 1 furthermore shows a
right sliding piece 130 for fixing the base 105 and the first
display screen 115 in a substantially flat configuration, although
the sliding piece 130 in FIG. 1 is not positioned for the flat
configuration. FIG. 1 also shows a left sliding piece 135.
The flat configuration is shown in FIG. 2, in which the right
sliding piece 130 and the left sliding piece 135 straddle the
primary fold line 120, and in which the user terminal is fully
unfolded to 180 degrees forming a pad. The two sliders 130 and 135
are shown slid into positions at opposite ends of the primary fold
line 120 so as to fix the base 105 and the first display screen 115
in the substantially flat configuration. The two sliders slide
along lines parallel to each other, and perpendicular to the
primary fold line, and these sliders are preferably decorative in
design.
The user terminal in the substantially flat configuration of FIG. 2
has at least a touch mode option in which the first display screen
115 and the second display screen 125 appear as one big screen
responsive to touch, and a pointer or cursor is freely movable
between the first display screen and the second display screen. The
user terminal in the flat configuration of FIG. 2 also has a laptop
mode option requiring use of the keyboard 110, and a mouse,
trackball, finger pad or similar device for moving the pointer or
cursor.
The functionality of the additional screen 125 may advantageously
be different from that of the first screen 115. For example, the
additional screen 125 accommodates a tool zone, so as to join
certain functions closer to the keyboard, while reducing clutter in
the first screen 115. The additional screen 125 preferably includes
items such as a status zone indicating things like connectivity and
inbox condition, and such as a news ticker, shortcuts to programs,
documents, particular web sites, space for additional opened
applications like a music player or calendar, screen notes that can
be seen while presenting content of the main screen 115, and yellow
"stickies." The additional screen 125 can also be used as an
extension to the big screen 115, for example to scroll web page
lists.
The dual screens 115 and 125 allow the biggest possible screen area
on the smallest feasible dimensions. In the flat configuration, the
user terminal 100 may be as large as a piece of A4 or A5 paper, and
in that case does not look like a tiny toy resembling prior art
subnotebooks. In the flat configuration, when the touch mode option
is active instead of (or in unison with) the keyboard option, the
visibility of the screens will be virtually as good as the
visibility without the touch mode, due to advances in screen
technology.
As shown in FIG. 3, the keyboard is a QWERTY keyboard having only
one button to the left of the Q button and having only one button
to the right of the P button, and wherein the button to the left of
Q and the button to the right of P have respective widths less than
or equal to the width of the Q button. FIG. 3 illustrates that the
first display screen 115, the second display screen 125, and the
keyboard 110 have substantially the same width, which takes full
advantage of the width of the user terminal 100. Prior art laptops
typically have a total of 14 characters on the same line with the Q
button, but, according to this embodiment of the present invention,
there are only 12 buttons, which allows the user device 100 to be
more narrow. Of course, narrowness could also be achieved by using
characters having a shrunken size, whether the number of characters
per line is 14 or less.
The remaining figures show more detail of the sliding piece
according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4A, the
sliding piece 130 is for sliding along a side 400 of the portable
folding user terminal, and for fixing the portable folding user
terminal in a flat unfolded configuration. The sliding piece
comprises at least one finger contact surface 410, and at least one
terminal contact surface 420 where the sliding piece makes contact
with the rest of the terminal. FIG. 4A shows the flat configuration
in which the sliding piece straddles the primary fold line 120; the
user can exit the flat configuration by sliding the slider 130 so
that it no longer straddles the primary fold line, for example into
a position such as that shown by FIG. 1. The user does this by
putting a finger on the contact surface 410 and exerting pressure
sufficient to overcome the resistance at the terminal contact
surface 420.
FIG. 4B is a perspective view of what is already shown in FIG. 4A,
further showing a ridge or slide 430 that protrudes from the side
400 of the user terminal. Such a ridge provides one way by which
the slider 130 may attach to the side 400, and this type of
attachment is shown in greater detail in FIG. 4C. The ridge may
extend along the entire side 400 of the user terminal, or over only
part of the side 400; the latter case would be adequate, because
the slider 130 need not slide along the entirety of the side
400.
Unlike the gripping structure shown in FIG. 4C, FIG. 5A
alternatively shows the slider 130 anchored to the side 400 of the
user terminal. Regardless of whether the slider 130 is attached to
the side 400 by a gripping structure or an anchor structure, or by
some other equivalent structure, the other slider 135 would be
attached in the same way. Each slider is preferably symmetric with
respect to a plane of symmetry 500, and thus the slider 135 and the
slider 130 do not require a separate manufacture, since they are
substantially the same. If the user terminal is small enough, only
one slider will be sufficient to provide the required
stability.
FIG. 5B illustrates a connector or bridging piece 510 connecting
the sliders 130 and 135 to each other. This connector 510 is an
option that would provide greater stability to the flat
configuration, for example by ensuring that if the right slider 130
is straddling the primary fold line 120 then the left slider 135
must also be straddling the primary fold line 120.
Referring now to FIG. 6, that figure shows an embodiment of the
present invention in a laptop configuration, with the keyboard 110
removed. In this embodiment, removal of the keyboard exposes a
bigger display screen 125, as compared to the relatively small
portion of the screen 125 shown in FIG. 1. However, FIG. 6 is
merely illustrative, and alternatively removal of the keyboard 110
could instead expose other features instead of a supplementary
portion of the screen 125, or could merely make the base 105 more
easily accessible for maintenance or repairs, without exposing any
other useful user features. Preferably, the keyboard 110 can still
be used even when detached, and therefore would be connected to the
rest of the user terminal by wire or by an invisible connection
such as an infrared signal, as is well known in the art.
In FIG. 7A, a laptop configuration is shown, in which the apparatus
has a second fold line 710 in addition to the primary fold line
120. The slider 700 is sufficiently long so that it can cover both
fold lines at once, as seen in FIG. 7B. The primary fold line 120
is also a line of detachability, so that the base 105 can be
separated from the first screen 115, allowing the user to carry
around the base, and to fold the base along the secondary fold line
710. The line 120 can be implemented in a number of ways that are
obvious to persons skilled in the art (e.g. using loops as in a
loose-leaf notebook).
In addition to the slider 700 on the right, a slider on the left,
such as slider 135 in FIG. 2, becomes more advisable and necessary
as the device becomes bigger or heavier. Even if the device is
small and light, there are still advantages to having a short
slider on the other side of the device from the long slider 700,
because the slider 700 will remain with the first screen 115 when
the first screen is detached along the fold line 120. Thus, the
short slider on the other side remains with the base 105, and is
available for straddling the second fold line 710, for example if
the keyboard is detached (as described above) to reveal an
additional display area.
An apparatus 100 for altering a portable terminal's configuration
into a more stable alternative configuration has been described
above in several preferred embodiments employing at least one
slider to provide the stability. Two screens are separated by a
primary fold line so that they unite as one big surface in the
stabilized configuration. However, numerous modifications may be
incorporated as is known to those skilled in the art of mobile
terminals such as portable telephones, and therefore the invention
has been described by way of illustration rather than
limitation.
* * * * *