WO2002017503A1

WO2002017503A1 - Radiotelephone format

Info

Publication number: WO2002017503A1
Application number: PCT/US2001/041841
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jae H. Shim; Ilwhan Park
Original assignee: Mobigence, Inc.
Priority date: 2000-08-21
Filing date: 2001-08-21
Publication date: 2002-02-28
Also published as: AU2001287201A1

Abstract

A radiotelephone (11) and associated housing (13) that is configured for more convenient use by providing a larger display screen (19) for the radiotelephone user. A keypad (17) and a display screen (19) are placed on a first housing surface (15). A microphone and a speaker are spaced apart on a second housing surface. A touch sensitive pad (18A) is optionally provided on the first surface (15), for supplemental entry of data, commands and/or graphics. A battery or battery pack, optionally detachable from the housing, is provided adjacent to the microphone or adjacent to the speaker. The second housing surface is detachable from the remainder of the housing so that two or more second housing surfaces, with different colors, patterns, textures, etc., can be interchanged.

Description

RADIOTELEPHONE FORMAT

Field of the Invention

This is a continuation in part of U.S. Serial No. 09/ 643,152, filed 21 August 2000. This invention relates to an arrangement of mechanical, electromechanical and electronic components for more convenient use of a radiotelephone.

Background of the Invention

Conventional portable, handheld radiotelephones are provided with a speaker or other audio signal output device ("speaker"), an LCD or other display screen for relevant radiotelephone information, a keypad or other data/command entry device ("keypad") to enter a telephone number for another telephone to be contacted (including, but not limited to, another radiotelephone), and a microphone or other audio signal input device ("microphone"), arranged in that order, all on one face of the radiotelephone housing, as illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 2 is a schematic view of a conventional radiotelephone 10 powered by a battery or other power source. The radiotelephone 10 includes a signal receiver for audio and/or data signals, connected to an antenna, to receive signals from an audio signal source and/or a data signal source, spaced apart from the radiotelephone, and a signal transmitter, also connected to the antenna, to transmit audio and/or data signals to an intended recipient. The radiotelephone 10 includes a display screen subsystem, to display alphanumeric text (usually 2-7 lines) including telephone numbers, and a keypad with at least alphanumeric keys to enter a called party's telephone number. The radiotelephone 10 includes a control processor, optionally including a memory unit, to control the processing of audio and/or data signals received from or to be sent to the antenna. The radiotelephone 10 also includes a speaker and a microphone whose signals are also processed by the control processor. A portable radiotelephone also includes a battery or other source of electrical power for the other components.

Development of various wireless technologies has led to convergence of conventional radiotelephones, such as cellphones, and wireless information access devices (wireless PDAs, two-way pagers, etc.) toward a single platform having a form factor that is comparable in size to a conventional cellphone. These devices often combine functions for two- way audio, calendar, address book, memoranda, e-mail, Web browsing, and other similar activities. However, substantially all of these devices have a conventional arrangement for speaker, LCD, keypad and microphone. This arrangement does not provide an adequate display area, when working with text-intensive applications involving editing a personal calendar, processing received e-mail messages, composing e-mail messages and memoranda, consulting or adding to an address book, and similar activities requiring intensive use of a display screen for input as well as for output.

Where an effort has been made to provide a larger LCD, the length and/or thickness of the resulting radiotelephone often increases to a point where the device cannot easily be held in the hand or be conveniently carried in a pocket. It would be desirable to increase the size of the display screen of a radiotelephone, in order to accommodate the growing importance of text-intensive functions, without increasing the overall length of the device.

What is needed is a radiotelephone that serves as a conventional radiotelephone and that provides a larger display screen or region on the device housing. Preferably, this device should provide a touch sensitive pad and/or touch sensitive screen for data and/or command entry that is associated with the display screen. Preferably, the battery, battery pack or other device power source (referred to collectively as a "battery") should be located near the speaker or microphone and/or should be oriented to minimize the thickness of the device. Summary of the Invention

These needs are met by the invention, which provides a new format for the mechanical, electromechanical and/or electronic components on and within a housing for a hand held radiotelephone device, referred to herein as a "radiotelephone," so that the device, as reconfigured, becomes comparable in size as well as thickness to a conventional radiotelephone, such as a cellphone. A display screen (e.g., a LCD) and a keypad appear on a first surface of the housing, and a speaker and a microphone appear on a second surface of the housing. Optionally, the first surface includes a touchpad where data, commands and graphics items can be entered by the radiotelephone user. This arrangement allows relatively more room for the display screen than is available in a conventional radiotelephone. Optionally, part or all of the display screen operates in a pressure sensitive mode for entry of data and commands into the device. Optionally, one or both of the sections at each end of the housing that contain the speaker and the microphone can be modified to accommodate these components, to accommodate one or more batteries for the radiotelephone, or for other purposes. However, the overall silhouette shape and/or size of a conventional radiotelephone is maintained.

In other embodiments of the invention, the housing component containing the speaker and microphone (1) is interchangeable to accommodate two or more different sizes of batteries, (2) includes batteries of different sizes attached to this housing component, (3) can be stacked on top of itself to provide multiple, connected batteries for extended power or higher voltage and (4) is interchangeable to provide different housing colors and patterns. Brief Description of the Drawings

Figures 1 and 2 illustrate a conventional radiotelephone component arrangement.

Figures 3 and 4 illustrate a first face and a second face, respectively, of a radiotelephone device housing configured according to the invention.

Figure 5 is a side view of the device of Figures 2 and 3.

Figure 6 illustrates a first face of another embodiment of the invention.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of one surface of another embodiment. Figures 8-12 illustrate placement of a battery according to the invention.

Figure 13 illustrates a first face of another embodiment.

Figures 14A-14B, 15A-15B and 16A-16B are side views illustrating other embodiments. Figures 17-19 are exploded views of other embodiments.

Description of Best Modes of the Invention

Figures 3 and 4 illustrate one embodiment of a radiotelephone 11 configured according to the invention. A keypad 17 and display screen 19 appear on a first surface 15 of a housing 13, as shown in Figure 3. A speaker 21 and a microphone 23 appear on a second surface 25 of the housing 13, as shown in Figure 4. The radiotelephone includes a radio antenna 29, which may be exposed or may be a patch antenna and can be located at any convenient place on a housing surface. The first and second surfaces, 15 and 25, of the housing may be opposed surfaces on the housing. Preferably, a region 27A adjacent to the speaker and/or a region 27B adjacent to the microphone holds batteries or other electrical power sources.

The keypad 17, shown in Figure 3, preferably includes a numerical pad, having entry keys for the numerals 0, 1, 2, ... , 9, plus entry keys for other desired characters, plus entry keys for radiotelephone transmit channel, for receive channel and for radiotelephone off/on control. Optionally, the radiotelephone also has entry or activation keys for programming, for memory recall and/or for redial. The key pad 17 has whatever number of control keys and/or function keys is needed to perform its desired functions for input of data and/or commands. Optionally, the keypad 17 includes a key that toggles selected keys between two or more modes of operation, in order to increase the number of characters that can be entered into the device and/or to decrease the number of keys needed for such entry. Optionally, one of these modes of operation includes a display mode in which part or all of the display screen 19 becomes pressure sensitive for entry of data and/or commands.

Optionally, the first surface 15 of the housing 13 includes a pressure sensitive touchpad or touchscreen 18A (referred to collectively as a "touchpad" herein) with an auxiliary stylus 18B that can be used to enter data, commands and/or graphics items, including sketches by the radiotelephone user and more formal graphics, into the system. The touchpad 18A can be located adjacent to the keypad 17, between the keypad 17 and the display screen 19, or adjacent to the display screen 19, as desired.

The display screen 19 in Figure 3 may be divided into two or more regions for different purposes. The display screen 19 can be made larger (10-20 lines, and preferably 14-20 lines, of alphanumeric or other data) in order to better accommodate display of text-intensive and/or graphics- intensive items. Optionally, the keypad 17 may be made longer as well, in the embodiment illustrated in Figure 3.

A speaker 21, shown in Figure 4, is preferably located at or near a first end 25E1 of the second surface 25 of the housing 13. A microphone 23 is preferably located at or near a second end 25E2 of the second surface 25 of the housing 13. The speaker and microphone, 21 and 23, are preferably separated by a selected distance d that corresponds to a representative distance from mouth to ear for a radiotelephone user.

Figure 5 is a side view of the embodiment shown in perspective in Figures 3 and 4, illustrating an option for this embodiment: one or both of the regions of the housing 13 that contain the speaker 21 and the microphone 23 can be made thicker to accommodate the electronic components used to provide these features and/or to receive one or more batteries or battery packs (referred to collectively as "batteries" herein). In Figure 5, the microphone 23 and speaker 21 are located to the right of and above the keypad region 17 and to the left of and above the display screen 19, respectively. In an alternative embodiment, shown in side view in Figure 6, the speaker 21 and the microphone 23 are located to the right of and above the keypad region 17 and to the left of and above the display screen 19, respectively.

Figure 7 illustrates a first surface 105 of another embodiment 91, in which the separate keypad and display screen components are integrated into a larger, pressure sensitive display screen 99 (e.g., a touchscreen overlaid on an LCD screen), having a display portion 99A and having an entry portion 99B that is used to enter commands and data for the device 91. A speaker and a microphone are separately located on a second surface (not shown) of the device 91, as in Figures 3-5. This embodiment permits use of a larger display screen 99 for data/command entry and for data display, through integrated use of most or all of the first surface for combined entry and display.

Figures 8-12 illustrate embodiments of the invention for placement of a battery. Figure 8 illustrates a first surface 115 of a housing 113 of a radiotelephone 111, having a slot 112 on the bottom thereof that receives and holds a detachable battery 114 to provide electrical power for the radiotelephone. The first surface 115 includes a keypad 117, a display screen 119, an antenna 129 and an optional touchpad 118A for entry of text and/or graphics by hand into the system. Figure 9 illustrates a second surface 125 of the radiotelephone 111 of Figure 8, having a speaker 121 and a microphone 123 on the second surface and with the battery 114 in place.

Figure 10 illustrates a first surface 135 of a housing 133 of a radiotelephone 131 having a detachable battery 134, a keypad 137, a display screen 139 and an antenna 149 and having an optional touchpad 138A as part of the detachable battery 134. A second surface of the radiotelephone housing 133 has a speaker and a microphone (not shown), arranged as shown in Figures 4 and 9.

Figure 11 illustrates a first surface 155 of a housing 153 of a radiotelephone 151 having a slot 152 on a side of the housing near the bottom thereof that receives and holds a detachable battery 154. The first surface 155 includes a keypad 157, a display screen 159, an antenna 169 and an optional touchpad 158A.

Figure 12 illustrates a second surface 185 of a housing 173 of a radiotelephone 171 having a slot 172 on the top thereof that receives and holds a detachable battery 174 to provide electrical power for the radiotelephone. The second surface 185 includes a speaker 181, a microphone 183 and an antenna 189. The battery may be placed at or near the top of the radiotelephone housing in embodiments analogous to those shown in Figures 10 and 11. Figure 13 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a housing

201 in which most or all of the first surface housing component 203 is a touch sensitive display screen, overlaid on an LCD screen 207 and having a soft key pad 205, rather than a conventional hard keypad. The soft key pad 205 can be located in any selected region of the display screen, but the soft key pad is preferably located near the lower end of the display screen to minimize interference with visual access to alphanumeric characters, graphical images and/or other displays in the remainder of the display screen 207. A second surface housing component of the housing 201 contains a speaker 209 and a microphone 211, neither of which is explicitly shown in Figure 13, in a manner analogous to the speaker and microphone shown in Figures 4 and 9. The housing 201 provides a display screen having (nearly) maximum display area, preferably at least 80 percent of the first surface housing component visible area. Figures 14A and 14B are side views of embodiments, illustrating a relatively thin housing 221 A and a relatively thicker housing 22 IB that may be used as part of the invention. The thinner housing embodiment 221 A includes a replaceable or interchangeable, relatively thin second surface housing component 223 A, having a first selected thickness tl (« 0.4-1 cm), that connects with a first surface housing component 225. A component, such as a housing component, is "replaceable" or "interchangeable" herein if the component can be removed or exchanged with another a corresponding component without using any tools (including, but not limited to, pliers, wrenches screwdrivers) and without any substantial effort. A housing component that can be easily detached from, or snapped into place on, the remainder of the housing unit by a simple hand action, for example, would qualify as "replaceable" or "interchangeable. "

The thinner housing embodiment 221 A in Figure 14A accepts, within its interior, a relatively thin battery or other power supply 227A that optionally has a plane that is approximately parallel to the plane of a first surface or second surface of the housing.

The thicker housing embodiment 22 IB includes a replaceable or interchangeable, relatively thick second surface housing component 223B, having a second selected thickness t2 (« 1-2 cm), that connects with the first surface housing component 225. The thicker housing embodiment 22 IB accepts, within its interior, a relatively thick battery or other power supply 227B that optionally has a plane that is approximately parallel to the plane of a first surface or second surface of the housing. The first surface housing component 225 for either of the housing embodiments, 221 A or 221B, has a third selected thickness t3 (_* 0.4 .-1.5 cm).

Figures 15 A and 15B are side views of a relatively thin housing embodiment 231 A and a relatively thick housing embodiment 23 IB, both replaceable or interchangeable, analogous to the thinner and thicker housing embodiments shown in Figures 14A and 14B. In Figure 15 A, the housing 231 A has a relatively thin second surface housing component 233 A that connects with a first surface housing component 235. The housing 231 A accepts a relatively thin battery or other power supply 237A in an interior location contiguous to and attached to the second surface housing component 233 A.

In Figure 15B, the housing 23 IB has a relatively thick second surface housing component 233B that connects with a first surface housing component 235. The housing 23 IB accepts a relatively thick battery or other power supply 237B in an interior location contiguous to and attached to the second surface housing component 233B. A relatively thin battery 237A may be exchanged with a relatively thick battery 237B by exchanging the thin second surface housing component 233 A with the thick second surface housing component 233B. Figure 16 A illustrates an embodiment 241 A for a relatively thin housing 243A that will accept a second surface housing component overlay (not shown in Figure 16A), to implement a change in the appearance of the second surface housing component. The thin housing 243A has a relatively thin battery 247A. The thin second surface housing component 243 A and thin battery 247A shown in Figure 16A can be replaced with a relatively thick second surface housing component and thicker battery, respectively, if desired.

In Figure 16B, a second, optionally identical, second surface housing component 243B, having a second relatively thin battery 247B, is positioned as an overlay on top of, attached to and contiguous to the first of the second surface housing components 243A so that the batteries 247A and 247B are either electrically connected to each other or are jointly electrically connected to at least one electronic component to which power is to be supplied. Each of the two second surface housing components, 243A and 243B, has the same profile, when viewed in a side view, so that this profile is maintained when two or more second surface housing components are overlaid and connected together as shown in Figure 16B. The first of the second surface housing components 243 A, shown in Figures 16A and 16B, is fixed, rather than being replaceable. Again, the thin second surface housing component 243B and thin battery 247B shown in Figure 16B can be replaced with a relatively thick second surface housing component and thicker battery, respectively, if desired.

Two, three or more second surface housing components may be connected together or stacked as shown in order to provide extended power, or higher voltage, for one or more electronic components, such as keypad, LCD display screen, controller module and/or main PCB.

Figure 17 is an exploded view illustrating another embodiment 251 of the invention. The embodiment 251 includes a first surface housing component 253 that includes a keypad cutout and display screen but does not include a speaker or microphone. The embodiment also includes an antenna 255, a keypad module 257, a keypad PCB 259, an LCD 261 and a main PCB 263 that are optionally of conventional design. The embodiment also includes a battery 265 that can be inserted into and removed from the interior of the housing. The embodiment 251 also includes a second surface housing component 267, having a microphone 269 and speaker 271 located thereon, as shown. The second surface housing component 267 is replaceable or interchangeable and is preferably provided in each of two or more colors, color patterns and/or texture patterns, such as black, charcoal gray, light gray, purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, red, pink, lavender, brown, beige, white, striped in two or more colors, checkerboard in two or more colors, polka dot in two or more colors and/or part of a wave pattern in two or more colors. The colors, color patterns and/or texture patterns may be provided for the entire second surface housing component 267 or for a selected portion thereof, such as the intermediate surface 273 that extends between the microphone 269 and the speaker 271.

The intermediate surface 273 in Figure 17 may also be provided in a selected texture and neutral color that is sensitive to markings by pen and/or pencil. The surface 273 allows the user to make and read notes on this surface (telephone numbers, addresses, to-do items, alphanumeric characters, graphical images, etc.) for future reference or for transfer to a more permanent medium. In this version of the embodiment 251, the intermediate surface 273 is preferably cleanable so that one or more notes can be removed for re-use of part or all of the surface 273 as a temporary note pad. It is preferable to provide this note pad on the second surface housing component 267, which is the surface closest to the user's eyes and ears when the user is actually communicating on the radiotelephone. Figures 17-19 do not show an optional interior cover that may be positioned between the PCB and the battery.

Figure 18 is an exploded view illustrating another embodiment 281 of the invention. The embodiment 281 is similar to the embodiment 251 shown in Figure 17, including a first surface housing component 283 and including a battery 285 (replacing the battery 265 in Figure 17) that is attached to a second surface housing component 287. The second surface housing component 287 and attached battery 285 are replaceable or interchangeable in the same manner that the second surface housing component 267 in Figure 17 is replaceable or interchangeable.

Figure 19 is an exploded view of an embodiment 291, similar to the shown in Figure 13, in which a soft key pad 299 is provided as part of the display screen and the display screen covers substantially all of the first surface housing component 293 (the keypad and keypad PCB from Figure 17 are removed). An LCD module 300 extends substantially the entire length of the housing, as shown. The system 291 includes a first surface housing component 293, a battery 295 and a second surface housing component 297.

The invention provides an improved battery-powered radiotelephone format in which a display screen can be enlarged and/or a pressure sensitive touchpad can be added to provide improved display of text-intensive and/or graphics-intensive items, in which batteries can be relocated or re-oriented to preserve a general shape and general thickness of the device, in which batteries can be increased or decreased in size or added to in a modular manner, in which the color, color pattern and/or texture pattern of a second surface housing component can be changed according to the user's wishes, and in which a temporary note pad can be utilized on a convenient surface of the housing.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A handheld radiotelephone system comprising: a housing having a first surface, a second surface and an antenna; a keypad that receives entry by a radiotelephone user of at least one of data and a command and stores the entered information in a radiotelephone memory unit; a display screen that displays selected data and selected commands received from at least one of the radiotelephone user and the antenna, where the keypad and the display screen are located on the first housing surface; a memory unit and associated control processor associated with at least one of the keypad, the display screen and the antenna; a microphone that receives audio input signals from a radiotelephone user and transmits the input signals to at least one selected audio signal destination spaced apart from the radiotelephone system; and a speaker that receives audio signals from at least one audio signal source spaced apart from the radiotelephone system, where the microphone and the speaker are spaced apart from each other on the second housing surface.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a touch sensitive pad, located adjacent to at least one of said keypad and said display screen, that receives and stores in said memory unit at least one of data, a command and a graphics item.

3. The system of claim 1, said housing has a thickness associated with each of said keypad and said display screen that is smaller than a thickness associated with at least one of said speaker and said a microphone.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said display screen can display a selected number of lines of alphanumeric data in the range of 10-20 lines.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said number of lines of data displayed lies in a range 14-20 lines.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said keypad comprises a selected region on said display screen where at least one of data and a command is entered by depressing a selected ordered sequence of pressure sensitive keys displayed on said display screen.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising a battery for said system, located adjacent to said microphone.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein said battery is received and held in a slot that is reachable through a bottom of said housing.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein said battery is attachable to and detachable from said housing adjacent to a bottom of said housing.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising a touch sensitive pad, located adjacent to said battery, that receives and stores in said memory unit at least one of data, a command and a graphics item.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein said battery is received and held in a slot that is reachable through a side surface near a bottom of said housing.

12. The system of claim 1, further comprising a battery for said system, located adjacent to said speaker.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein said battery is received and held in a slot that is reachable through a top of said housing.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein said battery is attachable to and detachable from said housing adjacent to a top of said housing.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising a touch sensitive pad, located adjacent to said battery, that receives and stores in said memory unit at least one of data, a command and a graphics item.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein said battery is received and held in a slot that is reachable through a side surface near a top of said housing.

17. A handheld radiotelephone system comprising: a housing having a first surface, a second surface, a bottom and an antenna; a keypad and a display screen located on the first housing surface, that allow entry and display of information associated with use of the radiotelephone; a microphone and a speaker, spaced apart and located on the second housing surface, that receive audio signals and provide audio signals for the radiotelephone; and a battery located adjacent to the microphone, where the battery is provided in at least one of three orientations: the battery is received and held in a slot that is reachable through the bottom of the housing; the battery is attachable to and detachable from the housing adjacent to a bottom of the housing; and the battery is received and held in a slot that is reachable through a side surface near a bottom of the housing.

18. The system of claim 17, further comprising a touchpad, located adjacent to said battery, for entering at least one of text and graphics by hand into said system.

19. A handheld radiotelephone system comprising: a housing having a first surface, a second surface and an antenna; a keypad and a display screen located on the first housing surface, that allow entry and display of information associated with use of the radiotelephone; a microphone and a speaker, spaced apart and located on the second housing surface, that receive audio signals and provide audio signals for the radiotelephone; and a battery located adjacent to the speaker, where the battery is provided in at least one of three orientations: the battery is received and held in a slot that is reachable through the top of the housing; the battery is attachable to and detachable from the housing adjacent to the top of the housing; and the battery is received and held in a slot that is reachable through a side surface near the top of the housing.

20. The system of claim 19, further comprising a touchpad, located adjacent to said battery, for entering at least one of text and graphics by hand into said system.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein said second housing surface has a selected color that is drawn from a group of colors consisting of black, charcoal gray, light gray, purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, red, pink, lavender, brown, beige and white.

22 The system of claim 19, wherein said second housing surface has a selected color pattern having at least two distinguishable colors that are drawn from a group of colors consisting of black, charcoal gray, light gray, purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, red, pink, lavender, brown, beige and white.

23 The system of claim 19, wherein said second housing surface has a selected pattern drawn from a group of patterns consisting of a checkerboard pattern, a striped pattern, a polka dot pattern and a wave pattern.

24. The system of claim 19, wherein said a first selected second housing surface is replaceable by a second selected second housing surface.

25. The system of claim 19, wherein said display screen covers at least 80 percent of visible area of said first housing surface.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein said keypad is a touch sensitive soft keypad that is part of or associated with said display screen.

27. The system of claim 19, further comprising a second second housing surface that has a second battery attached thereto, wherein the second of said second housing surfaces is attachable as an overlay to said first of said second housing surfaces.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein said first and second of said second housing surfaces have substantially the same profile.

29. The system of claim 19, wherein said second housing surface has a battery attached thereto for providing electrical power for at least one of said keypad, said display screen, said memory unit, said microphone and said speaker.

30. The system of claim 19, wherein said second housing surface has a selected portion that receives and displays alphanumeric characters and graphical images made by at least one of a pencil and a pen.