THUMB OR FINGER ATTACHMENT FOR USE WITH PORTABLE HAND HELD DEVICES

ACCESSOIRE DE POUCE OU DE DOIGT UTILISABLE AVEC DES APPAREILS ELECTRONIQUES PORTATIFS

English Abstract

A thumb or finger attachment which can provide for easier typing on keyboards
of portable hand
held devices. The thumb or finger attachment has a body portion, which
consists of an integrally
connected bottom portion and arcuate portion formed above the bottom portion.
The arcuate portion
is configured to extend at least partially around the thumb or finger of a
wearer when coupled thereto
so as to substantially enclose the thumb or finger of the wearer within the
arcuate portion. The
bottom portion extends generally perpendicularly to a longitudinal axis of the
thumb or finger and
terminates in a substantially narrow end for engaging the keyboard of a
handheld portable device.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY
OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
We claim:
1. A thumb or finger attachment comprising:
thumb engaging means for coupling said thumb attachment to a distal portion of
a thumb or
finger of a user, the thumb engaging means comprising a bottom portion and an
arcuate
portion having a substantially frusto-conical cross-section formed above the
bottom portion,
the arcuate portion substantially encircling the distal portion of the thumb
or the finger of the
user when coupled thereto, and wherein the bottom portion extends generally
perpendicularly
to a longitudinal axis of the thumb or the finger and terminates in a
substantially narrow end
for engaging a handheld portable device.
2. A thumb or finger attachment for providing easier typing on a keyboard of
portable hand held
devices, the thumb or finger attachment comprising:
a body portion comprising a bottom portion and an arcuate portion formed above
the bottom
portion, wherein the arcuate portion is configured to extend at least
partially around the
thumb or finger of a wearer when coupled thereto so as to substantially
enclose the thumb
or the finger of the wearer within the arcuate portion, and wherein the bottom
portion extends
generally perpendicularly to a longitudinal axis of the thumb or the finger
and terminates in
a substantially narrow end for engaging a handheld portable device.
3. A thumb or finger attachment for providing easier typing on a keyboard of
portable hand held
devices, the thumb or finger attachment comprising:
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a body portion of flexible material comprising a bottom portion and an arcuate
portion
having a substantially frusto-conical cross-section formed above the bottom
portion, wherein
the arcuate portion is configured to extend at least partially around a thumb
or a finger of a
wearer when coupled thereto so as to substantially enclose the thumb or the
finger of the
wearer within the arcuate portion, and wherein the bottom portion extends
generally
perpendicularly to a longitudinal axis of the thumb or the finger and
terminates in a
substantially narrow end for engaging a handheld portable device.
4. The thumb or finger attachment of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the
thumb or finger
attachment is made of a thermoplastic composition.
5. The thumb or finger attachment of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the
thumb or finger
attachment is made of a moldable clay which is baked.
6. The thumb or finger attachment of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the
thumb or finger
attachment is made of plastic.
7. The thumb or finger attachment of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the
thumb or finger
attachment is semi-adjustable.
8. The thumb or finger attachment of claim 1 or 2, wherein the thumb or finger
attachment is
made of a flexible material.
9. The thumb or finger attachment of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the
narrow end of the
bottom portion engages a keyboard of the handheld portable device.
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10. The thumb or finger attachment of claim 8, wherein the flexible material
can be deformed
by the user so as to modify a shape of the bottom portion and the arcuate
portion.
11. The thumb or finger attachment of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the
thumb or finger
attachment is of a one-piece, unitary construction.
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Description

CA 02559491 2006-09-07
THUMB OR FINGER ATTACHMENT FOR USE WITH PORTABLE HAND HELD
DEVICES
This invention relates generally to a thumb or finger attachment, and, more
particularly, to
a thumb or finger attachment for people with large thumbs or fingers to use
which can provide for
easier typing on their keyboards, such as on a RIM BlackberryTM or similar
type of portable hand
held devices.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Portable hand held devices, which generally have smaller keyboards positioned
thereon,
are extremely popular and heavily utilized items in today's society. However,
one persistent problem
in utilizing such a device having a smaller keyboard or other keys positioned
thereon is that it can
be difficult to select the desired keys without inadvertently selecting
another undesired key,
particularly when the user of the device possesses large thumbs or fingers.
Thus, there is a need for an improved thumb or finger attachment for providing
easier typing
for people with large thumbs on a keyboard of portable hand held devices, and
which is simple, easy
to manufacture, and which is semi-adjustable. In this regard, the present
invention substantially
fulfills this need.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved thumb or
finger
attachment for providing easier typing on a keyboard of portable hand held
devices.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved thumb or
finger
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CA 02559491 2006-09-07
attachment for providing easier typing for people with large thumbs on a
keyboard of portable hand
held devices, and which is simple, easy to manufacture, and which is semi-
adjustable.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a thumb or
finger
attachment for providing easier typing on a keyboard of portable hand held
devices, the thumb or
finger attachment comprising a body portion comprising a bottom portion and an
arcuate portion
formed above the bottom portion, wherein the arcuate portion is configured to
extend at least
partially around the thumb or finger of a wearer when coupled thereto so as to
substantially enclose
the thumb or the finger of the wearer within the arcuate portion, and wherein
the bottom portion
extends generally perpendicularly to a longitudinal axis of the thumb or the
finger and terminates
in a substantially narrow end for engaging a handheld portable device.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
thumb or finger
attachment comprising thumb engaging means for coupling said thumb attachment
to a distal portion
of a thumb or fingerof a user, the thumb engaging means comprising a bottom
portion and an arcuate
portion having a substantially frusto-conical cross-section formed above the
bottom portion, the
arcuate portion substantially encircling the distal portion of the thumb or
the finger of the user when
coupled thereto, and wherein the bottom portion extends generally
perpendicularly to a longitudinal
axis of the thumb or the finger and terminates in a substantially narrow end
for engaging a handheld
portable device.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
thumb or finger
attachment for providing easier typing on a keyboard of portable hand held
devices, the thumb or
finger attachment comprising a body portion of flexible material comprising a
bottom portion and
an arcuate portion having a substantially frusto-conical cross-section formed
above the bottom
portion, wherein the arcuate portion is configured to extend at least
partially around a thumb or a
finger of a wearer when coupled thereto so as to substantially enclose the
thumb or the finger of the
wearer within the arcuate portion, and wherein the bottom portion extends
generally perpendicularly
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CA 02559491 2006-09-07
to a longitudinal axis of the thumb or the finger and terminates in a
substantially narrow end for
engaging a handheld portable device.
The advantage of the present invention is that it provides an improved thumb
or finger
attachment for providing easier typing on a keyboard of portable hand held
devices.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is to provide an improved thumb
or finger
attachment for providing easier typing for people with large thumbs on a
keyboard of portable hand
held devices, and which is simple, easy to manufacture, and which is semi-
adjustable.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described below with
reference to
the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the thumb or finger attachment of the
present
invention positioned on the thumb of a user; and
Figure 2 is a top view of the thumb or finger attachment of the present
invention shown
positioned on the thumb of a user.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
With reference to Figures 1 and 2, it can be seen that the present invention
essentially
comprises a thumb or finger attachment which can provide for easier typing on
keyboards or keys
of portable hand held devices, such as on a RIM BlackberryTM or similar type.
The thumb or finger
attachment has a body portion comprises a body portion 1 having a bottom
portion 5 and an arcuate
portion 7 integrally formed above the bottom portion 5, wherein the arcuate
portion 7 is configured
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CA 02559491 2006-09-07
to extend at least partially around the thumb or finger 3 of a wearer when
coupled thereto so as to
substantially enclose the thumb or the finger of the wearer within the arcuate
portion. With reference
to Figure 1, it can be seen that the bottom portion extends generally
perpendicularly to a longitudinal
axis of the thumb or the finger and terminates in a substantially narrow end
for engaging a handheld
portable device.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the thumb or finger attachment of
the present
invention can be made from a moldable clay, that is baked in the oven. Once
baked, it has the
consistency of a firm pencil eraser, and, in this way, is still flexible, but
at the same time, provides
grip for contacting the keys of the handheld portable device. In this manner,
be being flexible, the
thumb or finger attachment of the present invention can be deformed slightly,
so as to be semi-
adjustable, or whereby, for example, the wearer can modify a shape of the
bottom portion 5 and the
arcuate portion 7. As a further example of this, a wearer might desire to
deform the outmost end of
the bottom portion 5 of the thumb or finger attachment so as to provide for a
narrower surface for
contacting the keys of the handheld portable device.
Of course, it will also be understood that the thumb or finger attachment of
the present
invention can be made from plastic, or other suitable thermoplastic
compositions. Preferably, the
thumb or finger attachment of the present invention will be a one-piece
design, though it will be
readily understood that variations to this are conceivable.
With reference to Figure 2, it can be seen that the arcuate portion 7 provides
for a partial ring,
configured to extend at least partially around a thumb or a finger of a wearer
when coupled thereto
so as to substantially enclose the end of a thumb (or finger) of the wearer
within the arcuate portion.
The present invention has been described herein with regard to preferred
embodiments.
However, it will be obvious to persons skilled in the art that a number of
variations and
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CA 02559491 2006-09-07
modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as
described herein.