WO2001061440A1

WO2001061440A1 - Portable data processing terminal

Info

Publication number: WO2001061440A1
Application number: PCT/GB2001/000679
Authority: WO
Inventors: Margaret Crosthwaite; Stephen Eason; Andreas Mehne; Simon Smith; Digby Symons; David Ahern
Original assignee: Orange Personal Communications Services Limited
Priority date: 2000-02-18
Filing date: 2001-02-19
Publication date: 2001-08-23
Also published as: GB2359441A; AU3388801A; GB0003905D0

Abstract

A portable data processing terminal, comprising: a housing (10) having a front face; a movable member (20) attached to said housing; and a mounting arrangement whereby said member is mounted to said housing, said mounting arrangement defining a predetermined first position, and a predetermined second position, in which said member is locatable with respect to said housing, wherein in the first position the member lies adjacent said front face, and wherein in the second position the member supports the housing in a position in which the front face is inclined with respect to the horizontal when the terminal is placed on a horizontal surface.

Description

PORTABI E DATA PROCESSING TERMINAL

The invention relates to a portable data processing terminal More

specifically, but not exclusn ely. the invention relates to portable devices,

capable ot capturing video image information and of receiving and

transmitting such information in mobile telecommunications system, such as

cellular radio networks Such devices are referred to herein as mobile

videophones

Mobile videophones are known One example is the VP-210 VisualPhone produced by Kvocera Corporation The VisualPhone has an

image sensor and a thin film transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display (LCD)

along with cellular radio interface components The VisualPhone is portable,

and along with an audio signal transmits and receives successive image frames in real time The VisualPhone may be used in a hand-held mode, and

may also be used in a hand-free mode, in which a flip-out stand attached

towards the lower end ot the handset is angled away from the handset, such

that the display screen is angled toward the user when the handset is placed on

a horizontal surface

Also known are personal digital assistants (PDAs) which provide a

touch-screen display man-machine interface One example of such a device is

the Hewlett-Packard Jornada 430 palm-size personal computer The device

includes a touch-screen display whereby the l rge majority of man-machine

interface interactions occur The device include a display cover which is 61440

opened when a user desires to input data via the touch-screen display The

cover is attached to the main housing by means of a two-hinged link

arrangement, whereby the cover, which normally is located against the front

surface of the device when covering the display screen, is locatable against the

rear surface of the device to expose the display A link member located

between the two hinges pivots across the top of the device in order to allow

the display cover to be located in its two different positions

It is an object of the present invention to provide compact and utile

features and improvements in relation to portable communications devices, in

particular, but not exclusively, mobile videophones

In accordance with one aspect of the invention there is provided a

portable data processing terminal, comprising

a housing having a front face,

a movable member attached to said housing, and

a mounting arrangement whereby said member is mounted to said

housing, said mounting arrangement defining a predetermined first position,

and a predetermined second position, in which said member is locatable with

respect to said housing,

wherein in the first position the member lies adjacent said front face,

and wherein in the second position the member supports the housing in a

position in which the front face is inclined with respect to the horizontal when

the terminal is placed on a horizontal surface /61440

The angle of inclination is preferably between 10° and 90°, more

preferably between 30° and ^~O°, and even more preferably approximately 50°

In accordance with another aspect of the invention there is provided

(claim 21 )

In accordance with a rurther aspect of the invention there is provided a mobile telecommunications terminal comprising

a housing comprising a touch-screen display and at least one audio transducer: and

a movable member.

herein said member is movable from a first to a second position, said

member at least partly covering said display in said first position and exposing said display in said second position,

wherein said member includes a portion adapted for transmitting audio

signals to or from said audio transducer when said member is in said first

position

In accordance with a further aspect of the invention there is provided a

mobile telecommunications terminal comprising a housing including a display

portion and a co\er member for said display, said cover member being

movable from a first position, in which said cover member protects said

display from external contact, to a second position, in which the cover

member functions as a stand for the housing and allows the terminal to be

used in a hands-free mode of telecommunications when the terminal is placed

on a horizontal surface In accordance with a further aspect of the invention there is provided a

mobile telecommunications terminal comprising

a housing,

a first audio transmitter located on one side of the housing and

arranged for use when said terminal is used in a hand-held mode of

telecommunications.

a second audio transmitter located on another side of said housing and

arranged for use when said terminal is used in a hands-free mode of

telecommunications and a member for holding said terminal generally upright for use in said

hands-free mode, said member being movably attached to said housing and

covering a man-machine interface part of said housing whilst exposing said

first audio transmitter when said terminal is used in said hand-held mode and

exposing said second audio transmitter when said terminal is used in said

hands-free mode

The present invention provides a cover of a mobile communication

terminal to protect parts on the front side of the terminal Another feature of

the invention is to provide a stand for the terminal

The present invention in different embodiments provides a pivotably

movable cover member for a mobile telecommunications terminal The cover

member is mounted to the main housing of the mobile terminal by a hinge

assembly The cover member can be pivoted from a first position to a

predetermined second position In this second position the cover member supports the mobile terminal in a position oriented to face the user when

placed on a horizontal * ur ace In this way the bottom surface of the main

housing and the cover member act as a stand tor the mobile terminal In the

first position the cover member covers at least some of the functional parts of

the mcDile terminal The pans covered by the cover member may for example

comprise the display of the mobile terminal In this way sensitive functional

parts or the front side are protected when the cover member is in the first

position

The second position is preferably reached by a pivotably rotation of

the co er member from the first position by more than 270° In the second

position the cov er member is preferably in a substantially vertical position

where the terminal is placed on a horizontal surface This ensures a stable

stand and inhibits the cover member from sliding in any direction away from

the vertical position

According to one embodiment of the invention the cover member has

an apeπure or cut-out exposing at least one runctional part of the terminal

This allows the use ot the mnctional part if the cover member is in the first

position Preferably the p__~τ exposed is an earpiece of the mobile terminal,

such that audio signals mav oe transmitted therefrom to a user^'s ear whilst the

cover member is in place

According to one embodiment of the present invention the cover

member comprises a first and a second pen on The second portion is

inclined with respect to the first por ion This ensures an opening angle between the main housing and the cover member in its second position and

thus stable stand of the terminal

Preferably, a detent arrangement holds and stabilises the cover

member in the first position For example, detents on the back side of the

terminal may be engaged by apertures or grooves on the front side of the first

portion of the cover member in the second position.

Further aspects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from

the following, in which one embodiment of the invention will now be

described, by way ol example only, with reference to the accompanying

drawings in which:

Figure 1 A is a perspective front view of one embodiment of a mobile

telecommunication terminal in accordance with the invention;

Figure I B is a back view of the mobile terminal of Figure 1A;

Figure 2A is a front iew of one embodiment of a cover member in

accordance with the invention.

Figure 2B is a side view of the cov er member of Figure 2 A,

Figure 2C is a back view of the cover member of Figure 2A;

Figure 3 is a front view of a link member for the hinge assembly

according to one embodiment of the invention;

Figure 4 is a perspective front view of the mobile terminal with the

cover member closed;

Figure 5A is a schematic view of a vertical cross-section through the

centre of the mobile terminal with the cover closed; Figure 5B is a schematic view of a vertical cross-section through the

centre of the mobile terminal with the cover in a position in which it acts as a

stand, when the mobile terminal has been placed on a horizontal surface.

Figure 6A is a perspective front view ot the terminal with the cover

member in a closed position according to a second embodiment of the

invention

Figure 6B is a perspective front view ot the terminal with the cover

member in a position in which it acts as a stand according to a second embodiment ot the invention and

Figure 6C is a perspectiv e back view of the terminal with the cover member in a second position according to a second embodiment of the

invention

The main components of a videophone as used in embodiments of the

present inv ention are described in our International Patent Application WO

99/59312

Figs 1A and I B illustrate a mam housing 10 of a mobile videophone

and Figs 2 A, 2B and 2C illustrate a cover member 20, each according to a

first embodiment ot the invention A hinge assembly connecting the main

housing and the cover member comprises in the first embodiment a link

member 21 which is shown in Fig 3

The videophone terminal comprises a main housing 10 housing all

man-machine interface parts ot the terminal, a thin sheet-like cover member

20 and a link member 21 The man-machine interface parts of the terminal include a touch-screen display 2, consisting of a TFT LCD covered by a

pressure-sensitive membrane, whereby commands and data may be input by a

user, earpiece 4. camera 5, rear speaker 6. stylus 8 button keypad 18, and

aperture 19 To input commands or data, a user manually holds stylus 8 and

applies pressure to a desired part of touch-screen display 2. thus selecting

icons displayed on the display 2 and inputting data as desired The housing

includes an audio transmitter namely a loudspeaker, mounted behind earpiece

4 located at the top of the housing 10. and an audio receiver namely a

microphone, located behind aperture 19 located at the bottom of the housing

The earpiece 4 and the aperture 19 are each located on the front face 16 of the

housing The button keypad 18, as shown in Fig 4, includes a four-way

cursor positioning control key 18a, an accept function key 18b and a decline

function key 18c Also included are four additional function keys 18d A

rotatable video and still camera 5 is mounted to one side of housing 10, at the

top thereof To the other side of the top of the housing an antenna 7 which is

pivotable upwards, is located whereby radio frequencv signals are received

from and transmitted to a mobile communications network, such as a cellular

radio telecommunications network Slide off battery cover 9 is located at the

lower end of the rear surface 34 of the housing 10

The terminal has a hand-held mode of telephony and a hands-free

mode of telephony, which modes are selected by appropriate man-machine

interface interactions In the hand-held mode of operation, the loudspeaker

associated with earpiece 4 is activated, so that when the terminal is held against a user's ear, with earpiece 4 adjacent the user's ear, the user can hear

audio signals transmitted from the loudspeaker behind earpiece 4 and so that

speech uttered by the user is picked up by the microphone behind aperture 19.

In the hands-free mode a second loudspeaker, housed inside terminal behind

rear speaker 6. located on the rear surface of the housing 10, is activated and

the loudspeaker associated w ith earpiece 4 is de-activated. In the hands-free mode of operation, the microphone located behind aperture 19 also picks up

audio signals from one or more users, and the videophone amplifies those

signals as required before transmission over the radio frequency interface. Rear speaker 6 is located in a separate location from earpiece 4 on the housing

10 in order to avoid a user^'s hearing being damaged in case of accidental

activation of the hands-free mode of operation whilst the earpiece 4 is held

against the ear by a user, since the audio signals transmitted by rear speaker 6 are of significantly greater amplitude than those transmitted by earpiece 4.

Link member 21 is pivotably mounted to the housing 10 by a first

hinge 22. The cov er member 20 is pivotably mounted to the link member 21

by a second hinge 31. The housing 10 has a recess 1 1 on its top side 12. The

axis of the first hinge 22 is defined by two concave sockets 33 located

centrally in either side of the recess, such that the axis lies parallel to the front

and rear edges 13. 14 of the recess 1 1. The distance from the hinge 22 to

either of the edges 13, 14 of the recess is thus approximately equal. The link

member 21 is connected to the housing by sphenct l projections 32 pivotably

engaging the sockets 33 of the recess 1 1 such that the link member is 61440

10

pivotable within the recess 1 1 by approximately 180°, from a position in

which the link member 21 occupies the front half of recess 1 1. to a position in

which the link member 21 occupies the rear half of the recess 1 1.

The cover member 20 has a first, short, abutting portion 23 and second

covering portion 24 which extends down to and covers display 2. The second

portion 24 is inclined with respect to the first portion 23 by an angle of

approximately 40° ( see Fig. 5B) The cover member 20 is pivotably movable

about link member 21 by hinge 22. from a position where the first portion 23

is substantially parallel to the link member 21 . by at least 90° in the rearward

direction and at least 50° in the forward direction. The pivotal movement of

the cover member 20 in a direction towards the back side of the housing 10 is

restricted, when link member 21 is in its rearward position, to about 90° by

abutment of first portion 23 against the rear surface 34 of housing 10 (see Fig.

5B) The pivotal movement of the cover member 20 in a direction towards

the front side of the housing 10 is restricted, when link member 21 is in its

forward position, to about 50° bv abutment of second portion 24 against front

surface 16 of housing 10 (see Fig 4A )

The recess 1 1 is extended towards the front face 16 of the housing by a

further recessed portion 15 which accommodates the first portion 23 of the

cover member 23 when the cover member 23 is located to cover the display

screen 2. The surface of this recess 15 is inclined by approximately 40° with

respect to the surface of the front face 16 of the main housing. The first portion 23 of cover member 20 comprises two small

apertures 26 Housing 10 compnses two detents 25 on its rear side designed

to engage w ithin corresponding apertures 26 on the cover member

In a first position the cover member 20 covers the display 2 entirely,

whilst the remaining man-machine interface parts located on the front side of

the main housing are left exposed, as shown in Fig 4 A side view of a

portion ot the videophone with the cover member 20 in this position is shown

in Fig 5A Link member 21 is mv otablv rotated towards the front of the main

housing ana located flush inside recess 1 1 The back surface ot cover member

1 substantially matches in shape the conesponding surfaces ot the front side

of the housing 10 The front ot housing 10 comprises a frame-shaped elevated

surround 3 enclosing the displav 2 The back surface of cover member has a

raised flat surface 30 fitting flusn inside surround 3 and matching the shape of

the displav 2 to protect the

from external contact in the closed position

of the cover member 21 Projecions 27 are engaged by the edges of suπound

3 and thus stabilise the cover member in the first position by preventing

sidewards movements Detent 23 releasably engages with socket 17 and holds

the cover member in the first po ition until the engagement is released

The earpiece 4 of the v iceophone is exposed by an aperture 29 in the

cover 20, when the cover member 20 is in the first position This allows the

terminal to be used in a hand-held mode for audio telephony, with earpiece 4

held against the user s ear when the cover member 20 is closed and whilst

display 2 is protected The cover member 20 is pivotable, by means of the hinge mechanism,

from the first position described above to a second position The cover

member 20 in this second position acts as a stand for the videophone and the

terminal may be used in a hands-free mode, when the terminal is placed on a

substantially horizontal surface This position is illustrated in Figure 5B In

this position the link member 21 is pivotably rotated towards the back of the

main housing and located flush inside recess 1 1 The first portion 23 of the

i_over member is rotated by 90° with respect to the plane in which link

member 21 lies, such that the first portion 23 abuts rear surface 34 at the top

of housing 10 In this position the detents 25 at the back of housing 10 engage

with apertures 26 The detents 25 engaging with apertures 26 inhibit cover

member 1 1. and also link member 21 , being pushed upwards, relative to

housing 10. by the weight of the housing 10, and thus hold the cover member

in place in a stable position

The length of the cover member 10 and the opening angle between the

ot cover member 20 and the back side of the main housing 10 are selected

such that, in this configuration, the cover member is in a substantially vertical

position when the apparatus is placed on a horizontal surface In this way the

weight of the housing 10 is transmitted downwards through cover member 20,

via detents 25, which are located at a point substantially vertically above the

point of contact of the cover member with the horizontal surface on which the

videophone is placed Thus, the second position is stable and the vertical

disposition of cover member 20 inhibits the cover member from sliding towards or away from t te housing along the horizontal surface under the weight of housing 10.

As can be seen in Fig. 5B. when cover member 20 is positioned to act

as a stand, rear speaker 6 is exposed in that there is an audio transmissive

space between rear surface of the housing and the cover member 20 leading

from the speaker to the surrounding environment. Thus, cover member 20

does not impair the function of speaker 6 when the cover member functions as

a stand.

The link member 21 is constructed to be removable from main housing 10 by pressure alone, so as to reduce the chance of breakage

occurring in case the videophone is dropped with the cover member 20 open.

This feature is achieved by the resilience provided by the two V-shaped slots

23 in link member 21 , as shown in Fig. 3, along with the releasable mounting

of link member 21 to the housing 10 by hemispherical projections 32

engaging m the sockets 33.

In a second embodiment of the invention a combined cover and stand

is implemented by connecting a cover member via a single hinge to the main

housing of a videophone. This embodiment is illustrated in Figs. 6A to 6C.

In this embodiment, a rotatable camera 50 is located centrally in the

top of the housing 1 10, rather than to one side thereof. Otherwise, except in

the respects described below, it is to be appreciated that this videophone

includes all the characteristics and features of the videophone of the first embodiment. The cover member 120 is mounted on top of the main housing 1 10 of

the mobile videophone via a hinge 51. A first predetermined position where

the cover member is closed and covers the display 1 12 of the main housing

1 10 is shown in Fig. 6A. A second predetermined position, where the cover is

pivotably rotated by over 270° with respect to the main housing is shown in

Figs. 6B and 6C. In this position the cover member 120 is prevented from

further rotation by contact between the cover member 120 and the main

housing 1 10. The rotation is stopped when inner edge 53 abuts the rear face

of the main housing 10. Return movement of the cover member 120 is

inhibited by a cam or locking mechanism inside hinges 51 , which thereby

stabilises the videophone in its generally upright hands-free configuration. In

an alternative to the abutting contact, a cam or locking mechanism can be used

to restrict the pivotable movement of the cover member 120 both in the

forward and return directions once the desired position has been reached to

provide a stable hands-free configuration.

Whilst in the above-described embodiments the cover member is

attached to the top side of the housing of the terminal, it is to be appreciated

that other arrangements are also possible. For example, the cover member

may be attached to the lower end of the housing, and pivotable from a position

in which it protects the display of the housing on the front of the housing

underneath the lower end to a predefined position in which the cover member

supports the housing in a desired hands-free configuration. Alternatively, the

cover member may be detachably movable between the two positions. 15

Whilst the cover member in the above-described embodiments

functions to cover the display in one position, it is to be appreciated that the

cover member may also, or alternatively, cover other man-machine interface

parts of the housing, located on the front face or on other parts of the housing,

such as a kev pad of the housing Also, whilst in the above embodiment the

cover member has an aperture for exposing the eaφiece, in addition or

alternativeh the cov er may include an aperture or cut-out for allowing the

transmission of audio signals to a microphone in the housing

Finally the invention is not limited in application to videophones

Aspects of the invention ma} be implemented in other types of mobile

terminal, such as mobile telephone (non-video) handsets, cordless telephone

handsets, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc

It is to be understood that the embodiments described above are

preferred embodiments only \amely, various features may be omitted,

modified or substituteα by equiv lents without departing from the scope of the

present in ention, whicn is defined in the accompanv ing claims

Claims

1 A portable data processing terminal, comprising

a housing having a front face,

a movable member attached to said housing, and

a mounting arrangement whereby said member is mounted to said

housing, said mounting arrangement defining a predetermined first position,

and a predetermined second position, in which said member is locatable with

respect to said housing.

wherein in the first position the member lies adjacent said front face, and wherein in the second position the member supports the housing in a

the terminal is placed on a horizontal surface

2 A portable data processing terminal according to claim 1

wherein said inclination is at an angle of between 10° to 90°

3 A portable data processing terminal according to claim 2.

wherein said inclination is at an angle of between 30° to 70°

4 A portable data processing terminal according to claim 3,

wherein said inclination is at an angle of approximately 50° 1440

17

5 A portablt data processing terminal according to any preceding claim, said front face including man-machine interface parts of said terminal,

wherein said member covers at least one of said man-machine interface parts

of the terminal in said first position and does not cover at least one other of

said man-machine interface parts

6 A portable data processing terminal according to any preceding

claim and further comprising a display wherein said member at least partially

covers the displav of said terminal in said first position

7 A portable data processing terminal according to claim 6

wherein said display is a touch-screen display

8 A portable data processing terminal according to any preceding

claim, wnerein said member is pivotably movable from said first position by

more than 270° to said second position

9 A portable data processing terminal according to any preceding

claim, wnerein said member is mounted to the top of said housing

10 A portable data processing terminal according to any preceding

claim, wherein a line, passing through a part of ,aι i member supporting said

housing an a part of said member renting agains a supporting surface, is 1440

18

substantially vertically oriented in said second position when the terminal is

placed on a supporting horizontal surface

1 1 A portable data processing terminal according to any preceding

claim, wherein said terminal functions as a mobile telephone and said member

when in said first position exposes sufficient parts of the housing in order to

conduct an audio telephone call

12 A portable data processing terminal according to any preceding

claim, wherein said terminal f unctions as a videophone and said member

when in said second position exposes sufficient parts of the housing in order

to conduct a video telephone call

13 A portable data processing terminal according to any preceding

claim wherein said housing comprises an audio transducer and wherein said

member includes a portion adapted for transmitting audio signals to or from

said audio transducer when said member is in said first position

14 A portable data processing terminal according to claim 13,

wherein said audio transducer is an eaφiece. and wherein said transmitting

portion is adapted for transmitting audio signals from said eaφiece on said

housing to a user's ear when said member is in said first position

15 A portable data processing terminal according to any preceding claim, wherein said housing has a rear face and said second position is defined

by said memrer abutting said rear face

16 A portable data processing terminal according to claim 15,

wherein the member comprises a first part and a second part, the second part

being inclined with respect to the first part and the first part performing said

abutting

17 A portable data processing terminal according to claim 15 or

16 wherein a loudspeaker output is arranged on said rear face and said member is arranged in said second position to expose said output to allow

audio signals to freely pass therefrom into the surrounding atmosphere

18 A portable data processing terminal according to any preceding

claim wherein in said second position, said terminal is stabilised by detent

means operat ng betweeT said housing sanα said member in said second

position

19 A portable data processing terminal according to any preceding

claim wherein said mounting arrangement includes a hinge assembly which

comprises an intermediate connecting link member, wherein the member is pivotably mounted onto said link and said link member is pivotably mounted onto said main housing.

20. A portable data processing terminal according to any preceding

claim, wherein said mounting arrangement is a snap-fit arrangement allowing

said member to be removed from, and re-attached to, said housing by pressure alone

21 A mobile videophone comprising a housing having a front face, a display and an audio transducer at said front face,

a movable member attached to said housing; and

a mounting arrangement whereby said member is mounted to said

housing, said mounting anangement defining a predetermined first position,

and a predetermined second position, in which said member is locatable with

respect to said housing,

wherein in the first position the member lies adjacent said front face

and at least partly covers said display while allowing transmission of audio

signals to or from said transducer through a portion of said member, and

wherein in the second position the member supports the housing in a position

in which the front face is inclined with respect to the horizontal when the

terminal is placed on a horizontal surface

22. A mobile elecommunications terminal composing

a housing comprising a touch-screen display and at least one audio transducer, and

a movable member

wherein said member is mo able from a first to a second position, said

member at least partly covering said display in said first position and exposing

said display in said second position.

wherein said member includes a portion adapted for transmitting audio

signals to or from said audio transducer when said member is in said first position

23 A mobile telecommunications terminal according to claim 22, wherein said portion is an aperture or a cut-out portion in said member

24 A mobile telecommunications ^rermιnal according to claim 22

or 23 wherein said portion registers with an audio transmissive part of said

housing associated w ith said transducer when said member is in said first

position

25 A mobile telecommunications terminal according to any of

claims 22 to 24, wherein said audio transducer is an audio transmitter 61440

22

26 A mobile telecommunications terminal according to claim 25, wherein said movable member is mounted to an upper part of said housing

when in said first and second positions

27 A mobile telecommunications terminal according to any of

claims 22 to 24, wherein said audio transducer is an audio receiver

28 A mobile telecommunications terminal according to claim 27, wherein said movable member is mounted to a lower part of said housing

when in said first and said second position

29 A mobile telecommunications terminal according to any of

claims 22 to 28, wherein said member covers said display substantially entirely when in said first position

30 A mobile telecommunications terminal comprising a housing

including a display portion and a cover member for said display, said cover

member being movable from a fust position, in which said cover member

protects said display from external contact, to a second position, in which the

cover member functions as a stand for the housing and allows the terminal to

be used in a hands-free mode of telecommunications when the terminal is

placed on a horizontal surface /61440

23

31 A mobile telecommunications terminal comprising. a housing

a first audio transmitter located on one side of the housing and

arranged for use when said terminal is used in a hand-held mode of

telecommunications.

a second audio transmitter located on another side ot said housing and

arranged for use when said terminal is used in a hands-free mode of

telecommunications and a member tor holding said terminal generally upright for use in said

hands-free mode, said member being movably attached to said housing and

covering a man-machine interface part of said housing whilst exposing said

first audio transmitter when said terminal is used in said hand-held mode and exposing said second audio transmitter when said terminal is used in said

hands-free mode