Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02389985 2002-06-10
Dual-Mode Mobile Communication Device
1. Field of the Invention
This application relates generally to mobile devices. More specifically, the
application
relates to a dual-mode mobile communication device for providing voice and
data
communications.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mobile devices are known. Example mobile devices include cellular telephones,
personal digital assistants ("PDAs"), wireless data devices like two-way
pagers, voice/data
communicators, etc. Recently, many companies have attempted to provide a
mobile device that
serves a variety of communication and organisational needs, such as data
communication, voice
communication or PDA functionality. For example, companies that primarily
manufacture
cellular telephones for voice communication, such as Nokia and Ericsson have
integrated PDA
functionality into their products. Firms that primarily manufacture PDA
devices, such as Palm
and Handspring, have integrated a wireless data modem into their products to
provide data
communication. And firms that primarily manufacture wireless data devices,
such as Motorola
and Research In Motion, have combined the functionality of a wireless data
device, such as a
two-way pager, with PDA functions.
None of these known devices, however, have successfully provided the full
range of data,
voice and organisational needs common to today's mobile device users. A
primary reason for
this failure has been the lack of a single, integrated and well-packaged
mobile device that is
capable of providing both voice and data communications, and which may also be
configured to1
CA 02389985 2002-06-10
provide PDA functionality. Some known designs require movement of device
housing sections
between closed and open positions in order to use voice or data communication
functions, and
sometimes other on-device functions such as PDA functions. For example, a
known so-called
"clamshell" design necessitates movement of two hinged housing sections, on
which a display,
keypad, speaker and microphone are mounted, to operate the device. In a closed
position, the
housing sections cover one or more of the display, keypad, speaker and
microphone, such that
one or more device functions cannot be used without first moving the device
housing sections
relative to each other to expose certain components. Such designs with movable
housing
sections can not only be inconvenient for a user, difficult to manufacture and
prone to breakage
of the movable parts, but can also require complicated and often unreliable
connections between
the parts.
Other designs may provide a static housing, but require substantial re-
orientation of the
device to switch between voice communications and other device functions.
Devices according
to a further known substantially rectangular design are intended to be used in
one orientation for
voice communication functions and in a rotated orientation for other
functions. In such devices,
a speaker and microphone are positioned at the opposite shorter ends of the
rectangular device
with a display and keyboard positioned therebetween. In order to accommodate a
larger
keyboard than a traditional 12-key telephone keypad however, the keyboard is
positioned
"sideways" on the device. Thus, for voice communications, the short end at
which the speaker is
mounted is the "top" of the device, whereas for other functions requiring
keyboard input, the
device must be held to orient a longer side of the device as its "top".
Devices requiring
reorientation to use different functions can be both inconvenient and
confusing when a user
attempts to quickly switch between functions.
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SUMMARY
A handheld dual-mode mobile communication device is provided including a
device
housing having a front surface, a rear surface and a plurality of side
surfaces coupling the front
surface to the rear surface. The dual-mode device includes a transceiver, a
display mounted
within the front surface of the device housing, a QWERTY keyboard mounted
below the display
and within the front surface of the device housing, and a microphone and a
speaker. The
microphone is mounted below the display within the front surface of the device
housing and the
speaker is mounted above the display within the front surface of the device
housing.
According to a further aspect of the invention, mobile communicator for voice
and data
communication comprises a device housing having a plurality of surfaces. The
communicator
also includes a display mounted within a first surface of the plurality of
surfaces, a QWERTY
keyboard mounted adjacent to the display and within the first surface, and a
microphone and a
speaker, wherein the microphone is mounted within the first surface and the
speaker is mounted
within the first surface, and wherein the first surface has apertures therein
to expose at least a
portion of the display, QWERTY keyboard, microphone and speaker.
In a further embodiment, a dual-mode mobile communication device is provided,
comprising a device housing having a front surface, a rear surface and a
plurality of side surfaces
coupling the front surface to the rear surface, a transceiver for sending and
receiving voice and
data communications, a display, mounted within the front surface of the device
housing, for
displaying information to a user of the device regarding voice and data
communications, a
QWERTY keyboard mounted below the display and within the front surface of the
device
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housing, for generating data communications, and a microphone and a speaker
for generating
voice communications. The microphone is mounted below the display within the
front surface
of the device housing and the speaker is mounted above the display within the
front surface of
the device housing.
A handheld mobile communication device assembly is also provided, comprising a
first device housing section, a second device housing section, and a printed
circuit board
(PCB), wherein the first and second device housing sections cooperate to
couple together to
form a handheld mobile communication device housing enclosing the PCB therein.
The
device housing includes a plurality of apertures at least partially exposing a
display mounted
on the PCB, a QWERTY keyboard mounted on the PCB, and a microphone and a
speaker.
In another aspect of the invention, there is provided an apparatus for a dual
mode
mobile communication device useable by a user, said apparatus comprising: a
single,
integrated device housing of a single section, said single integrated device
housing having a
single and continuous front surface within which are mounted a speaker, a
microphone, a
display and one, complete- alphanumeric keyboard laid out in the QWERTY style,
keys of
said QWERTY-style keyboard protruding through and extending above the front
surface, said
QWERTY-style keyboard being located below the display, said speaker being
located above
the display and said microphone also being located below the display, said
housing also
having a first dimension and a second dimension, the first dimension defining
a major axis
extending between a top side surface and a bottom side surface of the housing,
the second
dimension defining a minor axis between a left side surface and a right side
surface, said top
side surface and said bottom side surface being substantially parallel to each
other and
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substantially orthogonal to said continuous single front surface and to the
left and right side
surfaces, said housing also have a rear surface; a voice communication
interface configured in
the single, integrated device housing for operating the device in a voice mode
of operation,
the voice communication interface comprising the speaker, the display and the
microphone;
a data communication interface configured in the single, integrated device
housing for
operating the device in a data mode of operation, the data communication
interface
comprising the display and the complete alphanumeric keyboard laid out in the
QWERTY
style.
In another aspect, there is provided a handheld dual mode device operable by a
user
and capable of voice communication and data communication, said dual-mode
device
comprising: an integrated device housing having a single, continuous front
surface within
which are mounted, and through which extend, a display and one, complete-
alphanumeric
keyboard laid out in the QWERTY style, said keyboard being located below the
display, said
front surface including therein a speaker that is located above the display
and a microphone
that is also located below the complete, alphanumeric QWERTY-style keyboard,
said housing
also having and having a longer dimension and a shorter dimension, the longer
dimension
defining a major axis.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a dual-mode mobile communication device; and
device.Fig. 2 is a front schematic view of an exemplary dual-mode mobile
communication
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Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the left hand side of the device shown in Fig.
2.
Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the right hand side of the device shown in Fig.
2.
Fig. 5 is top view of the device shown in Fig. 2.
Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the front, right hand side and bottom of
the
exemplary mobile communication device shown in Fig. 2.
Fig. 7 is a rear view of the device in Fig. 2.
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Fig. 8 is an exploded view of the exemplary mobile communication device shown
in Fig.
2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Turning now to the drawing figures, Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a dual-mode
mobile
communication device 10. The dual-mode device 10 includes a transceiver 11, a
microprocessor
38, a display 22, Flash memory 24, RAM memory 26, auxiliary input/output (I/0)
devices 28, a
serial port 30, a keyboard 32, a speaker 34, a microphone 36, a short-range
wireless
communications sub-system 40, and may also include other device sub-systems
42. The
transceiver 11 preferably includes transmit and receive antennas 16, 18, a
receiver 12, a
transmitter 14, one or more local oscillators 13, and a digital signal
processor 20. Within the
Flash memory 24, the device 10 preferably includes a plurality of software
modules 24A-24N
that can be executed by the microprocessor 38 (and/or the DSP 20), including a
voice
communication module 24A, a data communication module 24B, and a plurality of
other
operational modules 24N for carrying out a plurality of other functions.
The mobile communication device 10 is preferably a two-way communication
device
having voice and data communication capabilities. Thus, for example, the
device may
communicate over a voice network, such as any of the analog or digital
cellular networks, and
may also communicate over a data network. The voice and data networks are
depicted in Fig. 1
by the communication tower 19. These voice and data networks may be separate
communication
networks using separate infrastructure, such as base stations, network
controllers, etc., or they
may be integrated into a single wireless network.
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The communication subsystem 11 is used to communicate with the voice and data
network 19, and includes the receiver 12, the transmitter 14, the one or more
local oscillators 13
and may also include the DSP 20. The DSP 20 is used to send and receive
signals to and from
the transmitter 14 and receiver 12, and is also utilized to receive control
information from the
transmitter 14 and to provide control information to the receiver 12. If the
voice and data
communications occur at a single frequency, or closely-spaced set of
frequencies, then a single
local oscillator 13 may be used in conjunction with the transmitter 14 and
receiver 12.
Alternatively, if different frequencies are utilized for voice communications
versus data
communications, then a plurality of local oscillators 13 can be used to
generate a plurality of
frequencies corresponding to the voice and data networks 19. Although two
antennas 16, 18 are
depicted in Fig. 1, the mobile device 10 could be used with a single antenna
structure.
Information, which includes both voice and data information, is communicated
to and from the
communication module 11 via a link between the DSP 20 and the microprocessor
38. The
detailed design of the communication subsystem 11, such as frequency band,
component
selection, power level, etc., will be dependent upon the communication network
19 in which the
device is intended to operate. For example, a device 10 intended to operate in
a North American
market may include a communication subsystem 11 designed to operate with the
Mobitexerm or
DataTACTm mobile data communication networks and also designed to operated
with any of a
variety of voice communication networks, such as AMPS, TDMA, CDMA, PCS, etc.,
whereas a
device 10 intended for use in Europe may be configured to operate with the
General Packet
Radio Service (GPRS) data communication network and the GSM voice
communication
network. Other types of data and voice networks, both separate and integrated,
may also be
utilized with the mobile device 10.
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Depending upon the type of network 19 (or networks), the access requirements
for the
dual-mode mobile device 10 may also vary. For example, in the Mobitex and
DataTAC data
networks, mobile devices are registered on the network using a unique
identification number
associated with each device. In GPRS data networks, however, network access is
associated with
a subscriber or user of a device 10. A GPRS device typically requires a
subscriber identity
module ("SIM"), which is required in order to operate the device 10 on a GPRS
network. Local
or non-network communication functions (if any) may be operable, without the
SEM device, but
the device 10 will be unable to carry out any functions involving
communications over the data
network 19, other than any legally required operations, such as 911 emergency
calling.
After any required network registration or activation procedures have been
completed,
the dual-mode device 10 may the send and receive communication signals,
including both voice
and data signals, over the network 19 (or networks). Signals received by the
antenna 16 from the
communication network 19 are routed to the receiver 12, which provides for
signal
amplification, frequency down conversion, filtering, channel selection, etc.,
and may also
provide analog to digital conversion. Analog to digital conversion of the
received signal allows
more complex communication functions, such as digital demodulation and
decoding to be
performed using the DSP 20. In a similar manner, signals to be transmitted to
the network 19 are
processed, including modulation and encoding, for example, by the DSP 20 and
are then
provided to the transmitter 14 for digital to analog conversion, frequency up
conversion,
filtering, amplification and transmission to the communication network 19 (or
networks) via the
antenna 18. Although a single transceiver 11 is shown in Fig. 1 for both voice
and data
communications, it is possible that the device 10 may include two distinct
transceivers, a first
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transceiver for transmitting and receiving voice signals, and a second
transceiver for transmitting
and receiving data signals.
In addition to processing the communication signals, the DSP 20 also provides
for
receiver and transmitter control. For example, the gain levels applied to
communication signals
in the receiver 12 and transmitter 14 may be adaptively controlled through
automatic gain control
algorithms implemented in the DSP 20. Other transceiver control algorithms
could also be
implemented in the DSP 20 in order to provide more sophisticated control of
the transceiver 11.
The microprocessor 38 preferably manages and controls the overall operation of
the dual-
mode mobile device 10. Many types of microprocessors or microcontrollers could
be used here,
or, alternatively, a single DSP 20 could be used to carry out the functions of
the microprocessor
38. Low-level communication functions, including at least data and voice
communications, are
performed through the DSP 20 in the transceiver 11. Other, high-level
communication
applications, such as a voice communication application 24A, and a data
communication
application 24B may be stored in the Flash memory 24 for execution by the
microprocessor 38.
For example, the voice communication module 24A may provide a high-level user
interface
operable to transmit and receive voice calls between the dual-mode mobile
device 10 and a
plurality of other voice devices via the network 19. Similarly, the data
communication module
24B may provide a high-level user interface operable for sending and receiving
data, such as e-
mail messages, files, organizer information, short text messages, etc.,
between the dual-mode
mobile device 10 and a plurality of other data devices via the network 19. The
microprocessor
38 also interacts with other device subsystems, such as the display 22, Flash
memory 24, random
access memory (RAM) 26, auxiliary input/output (1/0) subsystems 28, serial
port 30, keyboard
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32, speaker 34, microphone 36, a short-range communications subsystem 40 and
any other
device subsystems generally designated as 42.
Some of the subsystems shown in Fig. 1 perform communication-related
functions,
whereas other subsystems may provide "resident" or on-device functions.
Notably, some
subsystems, such as keyboard 32 and display 22 may be used for both
communication-related
functions, such as entering a text message for transmission over a data
communication network,
and device-resident functions such as a calculator or task list or other PDA
type functions.
Operating system software used by the microprocessor 38 is preferably stored
in a
persistent store such as Flash memory 24. In addition to the operation system,
which controls all
of the low-level functions of the device 10, the Flash memory 24 may include a
plurality of high-
level software application programs, or modules, such as a voice communication
module 24A, a
data communication module 24B, an organizer module (not shown), or any other
type of
software module 24N. The Flash memory 24 also may include a file system for
storing data.
These modules are executed by the microprocessor 38 and provide a high-level
interface
between a user of the device and the device. This interface typically includes
a graphical
component provided through the display 22, and an input/output component
provided through
the auxiliary I/0 28, keyboard 32, speaker 34, and microphone 36. The
operating system,
specific device applications or modules, or parts thereof, may be temporarily
loaded into a
volatile store, such as RAM 26 for faster operation. Moreover, received
communication signals
may also be temporarily stored to RAM 26, before permanently writing them to a
file system
located in the persistent store 24.
An exemplary application module 24N that may be loaded onto the dual-mode
device 10
is a personal information manager (PIM) application providing PDA
functionality, such as
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calendar events, appointments, and task items. This module 24N may also
interact with the voice
communication module 24A for managing phone calls, voice mails, etc., and may
also interact
with the data communication module for managing e-mail communications and
other data
transmissions. Alternatively, all of the functionality of the voice
communication module 24A
and the data communication module 24B may be integrated into the PIM module.
The Flash memory 24 preferably provides a file system to facilitate storage of
PIM data
items on the device. The PIM application preferably includes the ability to
send and receive data
items, either by itself, or in conjunction with the voice and data
communication modules 24A,
24B, via the wireless network 19. The PIM data items are preferably seamlessly
integrated,
synchronized and updated, via the wireless network 19, with a corresponding
set of data items
stored or associated with a host computer system, thereby creating a mirrored
system for data
items associated with a particular user.
The mobile device 10 may also be manually synchronized with a host system by
placing
the device 10 in an interface cradle, which couples the serial port 30 of the
mobile device 10 to
the serial port of the host system. The serial port 30 may also be used to
enable a user to set
preferences through an external device or software application, or to download
other application
modules 24N for installation. This wired download path may be used to load an
encryption key
onto the device, which is a more secure method than exchanging encryption
information via the
wireless network 19.
Additional application modules 24N may be loaded onto the dual-mode device 10
through the network 19, through an auxiliary I/0 subsystem 28, through the
serial port 30,
through the short-range communications subsystem 40, or through any other
suitable subsystem
42, and installed by a user in the Flash memory 24 or RAM 26. Such flexibility
in application
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installation increases the functionality of the device 10 and may provide
enhanced on-device
functions, communication-related functions, or both. For example, secure
communication
applications may enable electronic commerce functions and other such financial
transactions to
be performed using the device 10.
When the dual-mode device 10 is operating in a data communication mode, a
received
signal, such as a text message or a web page download, will be processed by
the transceiver 11
and provided to the microprocessor 38, which will preferably further process
the received signal
for output to the display 22, or, alternatively, to an auxiliary 1/0 device
28. A user of dual-mode
device 10 may also compose data items, such as email messages, using the
keyboard 32, which is
preferably a complete alphanumeric keyboard laid out in the QWERTY style,
although other
styles of complete alphanumeric keyboards such as the known DVORAK style may
also be used.
User input to the device 10 is further enhanced with a plurality of auxiliary
1/0 devices 28, which
may include a thumbwheel input device, a touchpad, a variety of switches, a
rocker input switch,
etc. The composed data items input by the user may then be transmitted over
the communication
network 19 via the transceiver 11.
When the dual-mode device 10 is operating in a voice communication mode, the
overall
operation of the device 10 is substantially similar to the data mode, except
that received signals
are preferably be output to the speaker 34 and voice signals for transmission
are generated by a
microphone 36. Alternative voice or audio I/0 subsystems, such as a voice
message recording
subsystem, may also be implemented on the device 10. Although voice or audio
signal output is
preferably accomplished primarily through the speaker 34, the display 22 may
also be used to
provide an indication of the identity of a calling party, the duration of a
voice call, or other voice
call related information. For example, the microprocessor 38, in conjunction
with the voice11
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communication module and the operating system software, may detect the caller
identification
information of an incoming voice call and display it on the display 22.
A short-range communications subsystem 40 may also be included in the dual-
mode
device 10. For example, the subsystem 40 may include an infrared device and
associated circuits
and components, or a Bluetoothml short-range wireless communication module to
provide for
communication with similarly-enabled systems and devices.
Fig. 2 is a front schematic view of an exemplary dual-mode mobile
communication
device 10, such as shown in Fig. 1. This device 10 includes a single,
integrated device housing
10A having a front surface 10F, a rear surface 10G, and a plurality of side
surfaces 10B, 10C,
10D, and 10E. The plurality of side surfaces 10B-10E couple the front surface
1OF to the rear
surface 10G.
The speaker 34, display 22, keyboard 32 and microphone 36 are preferably
mounted
within the front surface 1OF of the device housing. Preferably, the speaker 34
is positioned
above the display 22 near the top surface 10B of the device housing 10A, and
approximately in
the middle of the front surface 1OF equidistant from the two side surfaces,
left hand side surface
10D and right hand side surface 10E. However, the speaker 34 may instead be
positioned closer
to one of the two side surfaces 10D and 10E than the other. Below the speaker
34, an
approximately square display 22 is mounted centrally in the front surface 10F.
Although a
square display 22 is shown in Fig. 2, other geometrical configurations of the
display may also be
utilised.
The keyboard 32 and microphone 36 are preferably mounted in the front surface
1OF
below the display 22, and the microphone 36 is preferably positioned below the
keyboard 32 at
the location 36A near the side surface 10C at the bottom of the device housing
10A, although,
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alternatively, the microphone 36 may be positioned between the display 22 and
the keyboard 32,
or at the location designated 36B, on the bottom side surface 10C for example.
Both the
keyboard 32 and the microphone 36 are preferably positioned centrally in the
front surface 10F,
in like manner to the display 22 and the speaker 34.
The keyboard 32 preferably comprises a QWERTY style keyboard having a
plurality of
letter keys 32A. Also included in the keyboard 32 are several function keys
32B, including a
backspace key, an enter key, an alternate character key, and a delete key. In
addition to these
letter keys 32A and function keys 32B, the keyboard 32A preferably comprises a
NUM lock key
32C for selecting numbers associated with the letter keys 32A and a CAP lock
key 32D for
putting the keyboard into a mode where the letter keys 32A provide a capital
letter, preferably at
each side of a space bar key 32E.
The keyboard 32A is preferably symmetrically positioned from both the side
surfaces
10D and 10E, and is centrally mounted within the front surface 10F. The letter
keys 32A and
function keys 32B of the keyboard are preferably tilted at an angle with
respect to a vertical
reference line 40 that bisects the front surface 10F. Preferably, about (or
exactly) half of the
letter keys 32A and function keys 32B are positioned on the left hand side of
the front surface
10F, to the left of the vertical reference line 40, and about (or exactly)
half of the letter keys 32A
and function keys 328 are positioned on the right hand side of the front
surface 10F, to the right
of the vertical reference line 40.
The letter keys 32A and function keys 32B on the left hand side of the front
housing
surface 1OF are preferably all tilted at a common negative angle with respect
to the vertical
reference line 40, and the letter keys 32A and function keys 32B on the right
hand side of the
front surface 1OF are preferably all tilted at a common positive angle with
respect to the vertical
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reference line 40. Preferably, the positive and negative angles are
complementary, so that, for
example, the keys on the left hand side are tilted at about negative 40
degrees and the keys on the
right hand side are tilted at about positive 40 degrees. Other angles of
inclination of the keys are,
of course, possible, and it is also possible that the keys in either the left
hand side or right hand
side grouping of keys are not all tilted at the same angle, but may be tilted
at various angles.
Although the keys of the keyboard 32 are preferably arranged in left hand side
and right hand
side groups, the groups are positioned adjacent each other to form a unitary
keyboard structure.
The letter keys 32A and function keys 32B are preferably organised into three
rows of
keys. Each of the rows of keys spans both the left hand side and right hand
side of the front
surface 10F. The keys 32A, 32B in each row may be aligned along a horizontal
reference line
(not shown) perpendicular to the vertical reference line 40, or they may be
displaced from each
other, preferably in an arc across the front surface 10F. The arc may be
either convex or concave
such that the keys on the outer positions of the row, such as the "Q" key or
the "P" key in the top
row of keys are either above or below the horizontal reference line.
Preferably, the keys 32A, 32B are oval-shaped keys, as shown in Fig. 2. The
shape of the
keys, however, may take other forms, such as generally oblong shaped, which
would include any
non-symmetrical key such as an oval shaped key, a rectangular shaped key, a
diamond shaped
key, or some combination of oval, rectangular, circular or diamond shapes.
Alternatively, the
keys 32A, 32B may be generally symmetrically shaped, such as circular or
square.
The dual mode mobile device housing 10A also mounts the serial port 30, and
the
auxiliary 110 devices 28. Fig. 2 shows a device 10 having a serial port 30
mounted in the left
hand side surface 10D of the device housing 10A, a plurality of auxiliary 1/0
devices 28A and
28B mounted in the right hand side surface 10E, a plurality of auxiliary 1/0
devices 28C and 28D
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mounted in the top side surface 10B, and an auxiliary input key 28E in the
front surface 10F.
The positions of the serial port 30 and auxiliary I/0 devices 28A, 28B, 28C
and 28D are more
clearly shown in Figs. 3 through 5, although the invention is in no way
restricted to these
particular locations of components 28A through 28D and 30. Fig. 3 is a side
elevation of the left
hand side of the device shown in Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the
right hand side of the
device shown in Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 is top view of the device shown in Fig. 2.
Auxiliary I/0 device 28A is a thumbwheel input device and is preferably
mounted along
the right hand side surface 10E of the device housing 10A immediately adjacent
to the display
22. The thumbwheel input device 28A is used to select information on the
display screen 22,
and is thus optimally positioned adjacent to the display screen 22. Other
mounting positions of
the thumbwheel input device 28A are also possible, such as on the left side
surface 10D, or in the
front surface 10F. Auxiliary I/0 device 28B is an ESC (Escape) button, and is
preferably
mounted in the right side surface 10E immediately below the thumbwheel 28A.
Auxiliary I/0
device 28C, preferably mounted in the top side surface 10B, is an LED (light
emitting diode) that
indicates certain operational states of the mobile device 10, and auxiliary
I/0 device 28D is an
IrDA (Infrared Data Association) port, also mounted in the top surface 10B,
which provides for
short range communications between the device 10 and other similarly equipped
devices and
systems. The auxiliary input key 28E may be a device power key, a backlight
key for turning a
backlight for the display 22 on and off, a mode key for switching between
voice communication,
data communication and possibly other device functional modes, for example.
Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the front, right hand side and bottom of
the
exemplary mobile communication device shown in Fig. 2. As shown clearly in
Fig. 6, the
microphone 36 is preferably mounted near the bottom of the front surface 1OF
of the device
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housing 10A, adjacent to the bottom side surface 10D, at location 36A, or
alternatively on the
bottom side surface 10D, at location 36B.
A primary advantage of the device shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is that it provides a
dual-mode
device capable of voice communication, data communication and PDA functions in
a single,
integrated housing in which the voice communication interface (such as the
speaker 34,
microphone 36, and display 22) and the data communication interface (such as
the display 22
and keyboard 32) are mounted in a single device housing 10A, and, more
particularly, in a front
surface 1OF of the device housing 10A and aligned so that the speaker is at or
near the top of the
front surface 10F, the display 22 is below the speaker 34, and the keyboard 32
and microphone
36 are positioned below the display 22. In a device having a substantially
rectangular shape as
shown in Figs. 2 though 6, the speaker 34, display 22, keyboard 32 and
microphone 36 are
preferably aligned along the longer dimension of the device, along or parallel
to the vertical line
40, with rows of keys of the keyboard 32 arranged across the shorter dimension
of the device, as
shown in Fig. 2. For differently shaped devices, these components are
preferably similarly
aligned along or parallel to a major axis or longer dimension of the device,
with the keyboard
rows spanning the shorter dimension. This provides the advantage that a user
may use all device
functions with the device in substantially the same orientation. Whether the
device 10 is being
used for voice communication, data communication or other functions, the
device 10 is oriented
with the surface 10B at the top.
A further significant advantage of the present invention can be appreciated
with reference
to Figs. 7 and 8. Fig. 7 is a rear view of the device in Fig. 2, and Fig. 8 is
an exploded view of
the exemplary mobile communication device shown in Fig. 2.
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CA 02389985 2002-06-10
Referring first to Fig. 7, there are shown a plurality of holes 50, 52, 54 and
56 in which
fasteners 51, 53, 55 and 57, such as screws, rivets or the like, are received
to couple first and
second device housing sections (see Fig. 8) together to form the single
integrated device housing
10A which encloses components of the mobile communication device 10 shown in
Fig. 1. The
first and second device housings and internal device components are shown in
further detail in
Fig. 8.
Fig. 8 shows a handheld mobile communication device assembly 10 which has a
first
device housing section 60 and a second device housing section 62 which as
described above
cooperate to couple together, using fasteners 50, 52, 54, 56 (Fig. 7). It
should be appreciated that
fasteners are but one example of possible components that may be used to
couple the device
housing sections together. Other components include flexible or rigid but
deformable members,
possibly integral with one of the device housing sections, which engage
cooperating structures
on the other or each device housing section or are deformed to hold the device
housing sections
together. The device housing sections might also or instead be coupled
together by bonding,
with adhesive for example. However, the device housing sections are preferably
coupled
together using releasable fasteners such as screws.
Also shown in Fig. 8 is a PCB (printed circuit board) 64, upon which most of
the internal
components of the mobile communication device are preferably mounted. The
keyboard 32 is
preferably formed by positioning a key web 33A over a plurality of switches
33B on the PCB 64.
The key web 33A and plurality of switches 33B are preferably configured such
that each key in
the key web 33A contacts and operates one of the switches 33B when the key is
depressed.
Other configurations may also be implemented, in which the number of switches
33B may be
less than the number of keys on the key web 33A. The key web 33A and switches
33B on PCB17
CA 02389985 2002-06-10
64 are also positioned such that the apertures 35 at least partially expose
the keyboard 32. As
will be apparent from Fig. 8, portions of the key web 33A will be exposed by
the apertures 35 to
provide key surfaces that may be depressed by a user of the device 10 to
provide data input to the
device 10. Such data input may for example be used to generate data
communications on the
device 10. In the example device 10 shown in Fig. 8, the auxiliary key 28E is
adjacent to the
keyboard 32, such that the auxiliary key 28E is shown as part of the key web
33A and at least
partially exposed by the aperture 29A. However, in alternate embodiments, the
auxiliary key
28E or other auxiliary keys (not shown) need not be provided as part of the
key web 33A. Such
keys may be separate from the key web 33A.
The display 22 is also preferably mounted on the PCB 64, as shown in Fig. 8.
When the
first device housing section 60 and second device housing section 62 are
coupled together, the
aperture 23 in the first device housing section 60 at least partially exposes
the display 22. For
example, the aperture 23 in the first device housing section 60 and the
display 22 on the PCB 64
may be positioned such that a viewing area 25 of the display is exposed. The
frame and other
components associated with the display 22 are preferably hidden from view when
the first and
second device housing sections 60 and 62 are coupled together.
The speaker 34 is preferably mounted at or near the top of the PCB 64. One or
more
apertures 35 in the first device housing section 60 are positioned to at least
partially expose the
speaker 34 when the first and second device housing sections 60 and 62 are
coupled together.
In the example assembly shown in Fig. 8, the microphone 36 is mounted in the
second
device housing section 62, corresponding to the second position 36B shown for
example in Fig.
6. The microphone 36 is at least partially exposed by the aperture 37B in the
second device
housing section, and coupled to the PCB and other device components as shown
in Fig. 1. Audio
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CA 02389985 2002-06-10
or voice inputs to the microphone 36 may be used for example to generate voice
communications. When the microphone 36 is positioned at the location 36A (Fig.
1), an aperture
(not shown) would be provided in the first device housing section 60 to at
least partially expose
the microphone 36, and the microphone 36 would then preferably be mounted in
the first device
housing section 60 or on the PCB 64.
The device housing sections may include further apertures to expose or
partially expose
other device components. In the first device housing section 60, apertures 70,
72 and 74 are
configured to partially expose the auxiliary I/0 devices 28C, 28A and 28B,
respectively, not
shown in Fig. 8 but shown in Figs. 4 and 6. The aperture 68 is similarly
positioned in the second
device housing section 62 to at least partially expose the auxiliary I/0
device 28D, shown most
clearly in Fig. 5. As described above, the aperture 29A at least partially
exposes the auxiliary
key 29A. The aperture 66 in the second device housing section 62 may be
provided to
accommodate a power supply such as a battery. Other apertures may also be
provided in the
device housing as necessary.
Other internal components of the device 10 may also be mounted on the PCB 64.
The
device components are interconnected to provide for at least data and voice
communication
functionality, possibly in addition to further local non-communication
functions and short-range
communication functions. Although these other internal components are not
shown in Fig. 8,
most of them are preferably mounted on the other side of the PCB 64, opposite
the side on which
the keyboard 32, display 22 and speaker 34 are mounted, but some components
may be mounted
adjacent to the display 22 and/or keyboard 32 or on or along an edge of the
PCB 64. The
internal components of the device 10 are interconnected as necessary, through
wired
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CA 02389985 2002-06-10
connections, PCB tracks, other types of connectors or connections, or possibly
combinations
thereof.
The first and second device housing sections, when coupled together, form a
handheld
mobile communication device housing enclosing the PCB and internal components
therein. The
apertures 35, 23, 35 and 37B at least partially expose the speaker 34, display
22, keyboard 32
and microphone 36 as described above. Partial exposure of these components
allows a user to
make use of these components while at the same time protecting the components
from damage.
Apertures 29A, 68, 70, 72, 74 similarly expose and protect auxiliary I/0
devices. When access
to a component will normally be required relatively infrequently, a removable
cover element
may be provided for a corresponding device housing aperture. In the above
example of a device
power supply, a cover (not shown) is preferably provided for the aperture 66.
Access to the
power supply is thereby possible when required, yet the battery remains
protected when access
thereto is not necessary.
As most clearly shown in Fig. 8, the first device housing section 60 may be
considered a
first surface having one or more substantially flat portions representing a
frontal surface 1OF of
the housing and one or more curved portions depending from the substantially
flat portions of the
frontal surface 10F, and representing one or more side surfaces 10B, 10C, 10D
and 10E of the
housing. In a similar manner, it is also contemplated that such side surfaces
may depend from
the second device housing section 62. Alternatively, each of the first and
second device housing
sections 60 and 62 may have one or more substantially flat surfaces
respectively representing a
frontal surface 1OF and a rear surface (not shown in Fig. 8) of the housing
and one or more
surfaces depending therefrom, such that the depending surface cooperate to
form the side
surfaces when the first and second device housing sections 60 and 62 are
coupled together.
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CA 02389985 2002-06-10
The assembly in Fig. 8 offers significant manufacturing advantages for the
device 10.
Mounting of most internal device components on a single PCB 64 simplifies
manufacture of the
PCB in that only a single PCB must be built and positioned in a device housing
section.
Interconnections between different PCBs and problems associated with accurate
relative
placement of multiple PCBs are thereby avoided. During manufacture, the PCB 64
may be
positioned on or in either the first device housing section 60 or the second
device housing section
62. The other device section is then moved into place and the housing sections
are coupled
together to enclose the PCB and other internal device components in a single
integrated device
housing. Once assembled, the device housing is static, and device housing
sections need not be
moved relative to each other to provide for voice and data communication or
other functions.
Advantageously, breakage of movable device housing sections and typically
problematic hinge
arrangements and connections are thereby avoided.
Having described in detail the preferred embodiments of the present invention,
including
the preferred methods of operation, it is to be understood that this operation
could be carried out
with different elements and steps. This preferred embodiment is presented only
by way of
example and is not meant to limit the scope of the present invention, which is
defined by the
following claims.
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